Pulsar
PSR J2018+3518_P
Radio pulsar · binary system
A neutron star spinning once every 0.031 seconds; the beams from its magnetic poles sweep across Earth on every turn. It shares a 3.333 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 | Cygnus |
| Period | 31.316 ms (32 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 3.9×10⁻¹⁹ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 1.3 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 3.6×10⁹ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 5.0×10³² erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 267.0 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 7,077 pc (23.1 thousand ly) |
| Companion | neutron star (estimated), ~1.25 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 3.333 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.000043 |
| Discovery | 2025 · fast_gpps |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 20h 18m 48.1s |
| Declination (J2000) | +35° 18′ 46″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 55° S. North of latitude 55° 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 23 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 409 million years.