Pulsar
PSR J0614-3329
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 318 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 53.585 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 | Columba |
| Period | 3.149 ms (318 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 1.7×10⁻²⁰ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 2.9 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 2.4×10⁸ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 2.2×10³⁴ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 37.1 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 667 pc (2.2 thousand ly) |
| Companion | helium white dwarf (estimated), ~0.32 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 53.585 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.000181 |
| Discovery | 2011 · FermiAssoc, gbncc |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 6h 14m 10.3s |
| Declination (J2000) | −33° 29′ 54″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 57° N. South of latitude 57° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in December, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around 150 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 39 million years.