Pulsar
PSR J0125-2327
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 272 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 7.277 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 | Cetus |
| Period | 3.675 ms (272 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 1.8×10⁻²⁰ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 3.2 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 2.6×10⁸ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 1.5×10³⁴ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 9.6 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 1,190 pc (3.9 thousand ly) |
| Companion | helium white dwarf (estimated), ~0.20 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 7.277 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.000001 |
| Discovery | 2019 · htru_pks, gbncc |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 1h 25m 01.1s |
| Declination (J2000) | −23° 27′ 08″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 67° N. South of latitude 67° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in October, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around 1856 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 69 million years.