Pulsar
PSR J1911+1206_P
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 291 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 4.14 h orbit with a very-low-mass companion. Period, spin-down, distance and orbit come from the ATNF Pulsar Catalogue; the beam geometry is illustrative.
| Type | Pulsar |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Aquila |
| Period | 3.440 ms (291 Hz) |
| Dispersion measure | 181.7 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 6,323 pc (20.6 thousand ly) |
| Companion | very-low-mass companion (estimated), ~0.007 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 4.14 h |
| Discovery | 2025 · fast_gpps |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 19h 11m 24.5s |
| Declination (J2000) | +12° 05′ 59″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 78° S. North of latitude 78° 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 21 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 366 million years.