Pulsar
PSR J0437-4715
The nearest and brightest millisecond pulsar; it has a white-dwarf companion
The nearest millisecond pulsar, discovered with Parkes in 1993. Its 5.76 ms period is as stable as an atomic clock; its orbit and distance are known to microsecond precision from pulsar timing. It is a cornerstone of pulsar timing arrays (nanohertz gravitational-wave detectors). It has a 0.25-solar-mass helium white dwarf companion orbiting every 5.74 days.
| Type | Pulsar |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Pictor |
| Period | 5.757 ms (174 Hz) |
| Characteristic age | 6.7 billion years |
| Mass | 1,44 M☉ |
| Companion | He white dwarf, 0.25 M☉, 5.74 days |
| Distance | 156.8 pc (511 light-years) |
| Discovery | 1993, Johnston et al. (Parkes) |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 4h 37m 15.8s |
| Declination (J2000) | −47° 15′ 09″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 43° N. South of latitude 43° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in November, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around the year 1515. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 9.1 million years.