Pulsar
PSR J1917+1046_P
Radio pulsar · binary system
A neutron star spinning once every 0.088 seconds; the beams from its magnetic poles sweep across Earth on every turn. It shares a 828 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 | 87.730 ms (11 Hz) |
| Dispersion measure | 163.1 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 4,866 pc (15.9 thousand ly) |
| Companion | CO white dwarf (estimated), ~0.47 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 828 days |
| Discovery | 2021 · fast_gpps |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 19h 17m 55.0s |
| Declination (J2000) | +10° 46′ 00″ |
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 16 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 282 million years.