Pulsar
PSR J1759+5036
Radio pulsar · binary system
A neutron star spinning once every 0.176 seconds; the beams from its magnetic poles sweep across Earth on every turn. It shares a 2.043 days orbit with a CO white dwarf. Period, spin-down, distance and orbit come from the ATNF Pulsar Catalogue; the beam geometry is illustrative.
| Type | Pulsar |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Draco |
| Period | 176.0 ms |
| Period derivative | 2.4×10⁻¹⁹ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 11.5 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 6.6×10⁹ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 1.8×10³⁰ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 7.8 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 543 pc (1.8 thousand ly) |
| Companion | CO white dwarf (estimated), ~0.85 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 2.043 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.3083 |
| Discovery | 2021 · gbncc |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 17h 59m 45.7s |
| Declination (J2000) | +50° 36′ 57″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 39° S. North of latitude 39° N 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 around the year 255. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 31 million years.