Pulsar
PSR B2224+65 (J2225+6535)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 0.683 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 | Cepheus |
| Period | 682.5 ms |
| Period derivative | 9.7×10⁻¹⁵ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 1.1 million years |
| Magnetic field | 2.6×10¹² G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 1.2×10³³ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 36.4 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 900 pc (2.9 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1973 · jb1, gb1, gb2, gb3, gb4, gbncc, lotaas |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 22h 25m 52.9s |
| Declination (J2000) | +65° 35′ 36″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 24° S. North of latitude 24° 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 around 910 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 52 million years.