Pulsar
PSR J0453+1559
Radio pulsar · binary system
A neutron star spinning once every 0.046 seconds; the beams from its magnetic poles sweep across Earth on every turn. It shares a 4.072 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 | Taurus |
| Period | 45.782 ms (22 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 1.9×10⁻¹⁹ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 3.9 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 3.0×10⁹ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 7.7×10³¹ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 30.3 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 521 pc (1.7 thousand ly) |
| Companion | neutron star (estimated), ~1.28 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 4.072 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.1125 |
| Discovery | 2013 · ar327, fast_gpps |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 4h 53m 45.4s |
| Declination (J2000) | +15° 59′ 21″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 74° S. North of latitude 74° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in December, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around the year 327. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 30 million years.