Pulsar
PSR B2303+30 (J2305+3100)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 1.58 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 | Pegasus |
| Period | 1.576 s |
| Period derivative | 2.9×10⁻¹⁵ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 8.6 million years |
| Magnetic field | 2.2×10¹² G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 2.9×10³¹ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 49.6 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 4,400 pc (14.4 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1969 · gb1, ar327, ar4, gb4, lotaas |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 23h 05m 58.3s |
| Declination (J2000) | +31° 00′ 01″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 59° S. North of latitude 59° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in September, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 14 thousand years ago. At that time Homo sapiens was spreading out of Africa; there was no farming yet. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 255 million years.