Pulsar
PSR J1928+1902_P
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 172 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 18.747 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 | Sagitta |
| Period | 5.800 ms (172 Hz) |
| Dispersion measure | 28.9 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 1,495 pc (4.9 thousand ly) |
| Companion | CO white dwarf (estimated), ~0.51 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 18.747 days |
| Discovery | 2021 · fast_gpps |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 19h 28m 05.0s |
| Declination (J2000) | +19° 01′ 59″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 71° S. North of latitude 71° 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 4,876 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 86 million years.