Pulsar
PSR J1726-3530
Young pulsar · in the remnant G352.2-0.1(?)
A neutron star spinning once every 1.11 seconds; the beams from its magnetic poles sweep across Earth on every turn. Period, spin-down, distance and orbit come from the ATNF Pulsar Catalogue; the beam geometry is illustrative.
| Type | Pulsar |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Scorpius |
| Period | 1.110 s |
| Period derivative | 1.2×10⁻¹² s/s |
| Characteristic age | 15 thousand years |
| Magnetic field | 3.7×10¹³ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 3.5×10³⁴ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 718.0 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 4,722 pc (15.4 thousand ly) |
| Location | in the remnant G352.2-0.1(?) |
| Discovery | 2001 · pksmb, htru_pks |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 17h 26m 07.5s |
| Declination (J2000) | −35° 29′ 58″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 55° N. South of latitude 55° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in June, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 15 thousand years ago. At that time Homo sapiens was spreading out of Africa; there was no farming yet. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 273 million years.