Pulsar
PSR J0751+1807
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 287 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 6.32 h 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 | 3.479 ms (287 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 7.8×10⁻²¹ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 7.1 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 1.7×10⁸ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 7.3×10³³ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 30.2 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 1,100 pc (3.6 thousand ly) |
| Companion | helium white dwarf (estimated), ~0.15 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 6.32 h |
| Eccentricity | 0.000003 |
| Discovery | 1995 · misc, FermiBlind, ar327 |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 7h 51m 09.1s |
| Declination (J2000) | +18° 07′ 39″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 72° S. North of latitude 72° 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 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.