Pulsar
PSR J1918+1546
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 266 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 4.673 days orbit with a helium white dwarf. Period, spin-down, distance and orbit come from the ATNF Pulsar Catalogue; the beam geometry is illustrative.
| Type | Pulsar |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Aquila |
| Period | 3.764 ms (266 Hz) |
| Dispersion measure | 64.6 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 2,186 pc (7.1 thousand ly) |
| Companion | helium white dwarf (estimated), ~0.23 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 4.673 days |
| Discovery | 2025 · fast_gpps |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 19h 18m 35.6s |
| Declination (J2000) | +15° 46′ 52″ |
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 7,130 years ago. At that time the first farming villages were being founded; there was no writing yet. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 126 million years.