Pulsar
PSR J1411+2551
Radio pulsar · binary system
A neutron star spinning once every 0.062 seconds; the beams from its magnetic poles sweep across Earth on every turn. It shares a 2.616 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 | Boötes |
| Period | 62.453 ms (16 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 9.6×10⁻²⁰ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 10.3 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 2.5×10⁹ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 1.6×10³¹ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 12.4 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 1,131 pc (3.7 thousand ly) |
| Companion | neutron star (estimated), ~1.02 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 2.616 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.1699 |
| Discovery | 2017 · ar327, gbncc, lotaas, fast_gpps |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 14h 11m 18.9s |
| Declination (J2000) | +25° 51′ 08″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 64° S. North of latitude 64° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in April, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around 1664 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 65 million years.