Pulsar
PSR J2023+2853_P
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 88 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 17.24 h 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 | Vulpecula |
| Period | 11.330 ms (88 Hz) |
| Dispersion measure | 22.7 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 1,570 pc (5.1 thousand ly) |
| Companion | CO white dwarf (estimated), ~1.06 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 17.24 h |
| Eccentricity | 0.000013 |
| Discovery | 2021 · fast_gpps, ar327 |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 20h 23m 16.0s |
| Declination (J2000) | +28° 52′ 00″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 61° S. North of latitude 61° 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 5,121 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 91 million years.