Pulsar
PSR B2034+19 (J2037+1942)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 2.07 seconds; the beams from its magnetic poles sweep across Earth on every turn. Period, spin-down, distance and orbit come from the ATNF Pulsar Catalogue; the beam geometry is illustrative.
| Type | Pulsar |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Delphinus |
| Period | 2.074 s |
| Period derivative | 2.0×10⁻¹⁵ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 16 million years |
| Magnetic field | 2.1×10¹² G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 9.0×10³⁰ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 36.9 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 2,806 pc (9.2 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1985 · gb3, ar327, gbncc, lotaas, misc |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 20h 37m 14.6s |
| Declination (J2000) | +19° 42′ 53″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 70° S. North of latitude 70° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in July, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 9,152 years ago. At that time the first farming villages were being founded; there was no writing yet. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 162 million years.