Pulsar
PSR J1809-2332
Radio-quiet pulsar · in the remnant G7.5-1.7
A neutron star spinning once every 0.147 seconds; the beams from its magnetic poles sweep across Earth on every turn. Its radio beams do not sweep across Earth; its pulses are seen only in X-rays or gamma rays. Period, spin-down, distance and orbit come from the ATNF Pulsar Catalogue; the beam geometry is illustrative.
| Type | Pulsar |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Sagittarius |
| Period | 146.8 ms |
| Period derivative | 3.4×10⁻¹⁴ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 68 thousand years |
| Magnetic field | 2.3×10¹² G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 4.3×10³⁵ erg/s |
| Distance | 880 pc (2.9 thousand ly) |
| Location | in the remnant G7.5-1.7 |
| Discovery | 2009 · FermiBlind |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 18h 09m 50.3s |
| Declination (J2000) | −23° 32′ 23″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 66° N. South of latitude 66° 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 around 845 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 51 million years.