Pulsar
PSR J1932+1756
Radio pulsar · binary system
A neutron star spinning once every 0.042 seconds; the beams from its magnetic poles sweep across Earth on every turn. It shares a 41.508 days 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 | Sagitta |
| Period | 41.831 ms (24 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 4.3×10⁻¹⁹ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 1.5 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 4.3×10⁹ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 2.3×10³² erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 53.2 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 2,116 pc (6.9 thousand ly) |
| Companion | neutron star (estimated), ~1.30 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 41.508 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.000247 |
| Discovery | 2015 · palfa |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 19h 32m 07.2s |
| Declination (J2000) | +17° 56′ 17″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 72° S. North of latitude 72° 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 6,902 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 122 million years.