Pulsar
PSR J0653+4706
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 210 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 5.844 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 | Auriga |
| Period | 4.758 ms (210 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 2.1×10⁻²⁰ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 3.6 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 3.2×10⁸ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 7.6×10³³ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 25.5 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 911 pc (3.0 thousand ly) |
| Companion | helium white dwarf (estimated), ~0.25 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 5.844 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.000013 |
| Discovery | 2017 · FermiAssoc, fast_gpps |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 6h 53m 05.8s |
| Declination (J2000) | +47° 06′ 27″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 43° S. North of latitude 43° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in January, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around 946 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 53 million years.