Pulsar
PSR B2303+46 (J2305+4707)
Radio pulsar · binary system
A neutron star spinning once every 1.07 seconds; the beams from its magnetic poles sweep across Earth on every turn. It shares a 12.340 days orbit with a neutron star. Period, spin-down, distance and orbit come from the ATNF Pulsar Catalogue; the beam geometry is illustrative.
| Type | Pulsar |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Andromeda |
| Period | 1.066 s |
| Period derivative | 5.7×10⁻¹⁶ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 30 million years |
| Magnetic field | 7.9×10¹¹ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 1.9×10³¹ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 62.1 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 3,159 pc (10.3 thousand ly) |
| Companion | neutron star (estimated), ~1.43 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 12.340 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.6584 |
| Discovery | 1985 · gb2, gbncc, lotaas |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 23h 05m 55.8s |
| Declination (J2000) | +47° 07′ 45″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 43° S. North of latitude 43° 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 10 thousand 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 183 million years.