Pulsar
PSR B2151-56 (J2155-5641)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 1.37 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 | Indus |
| Period | 1.374 s |
| Period derivative | 4.2×10⁻¹⁵ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 5.2 million years |
| Magnetic field | 2.4×10¹² G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 6.4×10³¹ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 14.0 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 1,043 pc (3.4 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1978 · mol2 |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 21h 55m 01.4s |
| Declination (J2000) | −56° 41′ 57″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 33° N. South of latitude 33° S 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 around 1377 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 60 million years.