Pulsar
PSR J1913+1102
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 37 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 4.95 h 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 | 27.285 ms (37 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 1.6×10⁻¹⁹ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 2.7 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 2.1×10⁹ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 3.1×10³² erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 339.0 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 7,139 pc (23.3 thousand ly) |
| Companion | neutron star (estimated), ~1.07 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 4.95 h |
| Eccentricity | 0.0895 |
| Discovery | 2016 · palfa |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 19h 13m 29.1s |
| Declination (J2000) | +11° 02′ 06″ |
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 23 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 413 million years.