Pulsar
PSR J0737-3039B
Radio pulsar · binary system
A neutron star spinning once every 2.77 seconds; the beams from its magnetic poles sweep across Earth on every turn. It shares a 2.45 h 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 | Puppis |
| Period | 2.773 s |
| Period derivative | 8.9×10⁻¹⁶ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 49 million years |
| Magnetic field | 1.6×10¹² G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 1.7×10³⁰ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 48.9 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 1,100 pc (3.6 thousand ly) |
| Companion | neutron star (estimated), ~1.74 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 2.45 h |
| Eccentricity | 0.0878 |
| Discovery | 2004 · pkshl |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 7h 37m 51.2s |
| Declination (J2000) | −30° 39′ 41″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 59° N. South of latitude 59° S it never sets. 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 1563 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 64 million years.