Pulsar
PSR J0621+2514
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 367 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 1.256 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 | Gemini |
| Period | 2.722 ms (367 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 2.5×10⁻²⁰ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 1.7 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 2.6×10⁸ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 4.9×10³⁴ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 83.6 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 1,100 pc (3.6 thousand ly) |
| Companion | helium white dwarf (estimated), ~0.17 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 1.256 days |
| Discovery | 2016 · FermiAssoc |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 6h 21m 10.8s |
| Declination (J2000) | +25° 14′ 04″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 65° S. North of latitude 65° N 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 1563 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 64 million years.