Pulsar
PSR J1908+1036
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 94 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 3.964 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 | Aquila |
| Period | 10.690 ms (94 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 1.6×10⁻²⁰ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 10.8 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 4.2×10⁸ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 5.1×10³² erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 10.9 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 672 pc (2.2 thousand ly) |
| Companion | CO white dwarf (estimated), ~0.93 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 3.964 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.000001 |
| Discovery | 2025 · fast_gpps |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 19h 08m 21.5s |
| Declination (J2000) | +10° 36′ 35″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 79° S. North of latitude 79° N it never sets. 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 around 167 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 39 million years.