Pulsar
PSR B2110+27 (J2113+2754)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 1.20 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 | Vulpecula |
| Period | 1.203 s |
| Period derivative | 2.6×10⁻¹⁵ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 7.3 million years |
| Magnetic field | 1.8×10¹² G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 5.9×10³¹ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 25.1 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 1,420 pc (4.6 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1980 · misc, ar327, ar4, gb3, gb4, lotaas |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 21h 13m 04.3s |
| Declination (J2000) | +27° 54′ 01″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 62° S. North of latitude 62° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in August, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 4,631 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 82 million years.