Pulsar
PSR J1018-1523
Radio pulsar · binary system
A neutron star spinning once every 0.083 seconds; the beams from its magnetic poles sweep across Earth on every turn. It shares a 8.984 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 | Hydra |
| Period | 83.153 ms (12 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 1.1×10⁻¹⁹ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 12.1 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 3.1×10⁹ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 7.5×10³⁰ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 17.2 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 1,068 pc (3.5 thousand ly) |
| Companion | neutron star (estimated), ~1.41 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 8.984 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.2277 |
| Discovery | 2023 · gbncc |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 10h 18m 12.7s |
| Declination (J2000) | −15° 23′ 10″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 75° N. South of latitude 75° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in February, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around 1458 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 62 million years.