Pulsar
PSR J0709+0458
Radio pulsar · binary system
A neutron star spinning once every 0.034 seconds; the beams from its magnetic poles sweep across Earth on every turn. It shares a 4.367 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 | Canis Minor |
| Period | 34.429 ms (29 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 3.8×10⁻¹⁹ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 1.4 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 3.7×10⁹ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 3.7×10³² erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 44.3 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 1,203 pc (3.9 thousand ly) |
| Companion | neutron star (estimated), ~1.35 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 4.367 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.000225 |
| Discovery | 2019 · ar327, gbncc, fast_gpps |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 7h 09m 08.4s |
| Declination (J2000) | +4° 58′ 52″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 85° S. It stands highest at midnight in January, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around 1899 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 70 million years.