Pulsar
PSR J0732+2314
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 244 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 30.230 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 | 4.090 ms (244 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 6.0×10⁻²¹ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 10.8 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 1.6×10⁸ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 3.5×10³³ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 44.7 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 1,151 pc (3.8 thousand ly) |
| Companion | helium white dwarf (estimated), ~0.17 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 30.230 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.000009 |
| Discovery | 2019 · ar327 |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 7h 32m 37.5s |
| Declination (J2000) | +23° 14′ 54″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 67° S. North of latitude 67° 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 1729 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 67 million years.