Pulsar
PSR J1857-0230_P
Radio pulsar · binary system
A neutron star spinning once every 0.035 seconds; the beams from its magnetic poles sweep across Earth on every turn. It shares a 29.490 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 | Aquila |
| Period | 35.150 ms (28 Hz) |
| Dispersion measure | 134.5 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 4,013 pc (13.1 thousand ly) |
| Companion | neutron star (estimated), ~1.26 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 29.490 days |
| Discovery | 2025 · fast_gpps |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 18h 57m 20.5s |
| Declination (J2000) | −2° 30′ 00″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 88° N. It stands highest at midnight in July, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 13 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 232 million years.