Pulsar
PSR J1918+1540_P
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 234 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 14.860 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 | 4.280 ms (234 Hz) |
| Dispersion measure | 271.2 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 6,476 pc (21.1 thousand ly) |
| Companion | CO white dwarf (estimated), ~0.60 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 14.860 days |
| Discovery | 2021 · fast_gpps |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 19h 18m 19.0s |
| Declination (J2000) | +15° 40′ 00″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 74° S. North of latitude 74° 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 375 million years.