Pulsar
PSR B2152-31 (J2155-3118)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 1.03 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 | Piscis Austrinus |
| Period | 1.030 s |
| Period derivative | 1.2×10⁻¹⁵ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 13 million years |
| Magnetic field | 1.1×10¹² G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 4.5×10³¹ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 14.9 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 1,293 pc (4.2 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1978 · mol2, misc, pks70 |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 21h 55m 13.6s |
| Declination (J2000) | −31° 18′ 55″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 59° N. South of latitude 59° 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 4,217 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 75 million years.