Pulsar
PSR J0900-3144
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 90 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 18.738 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 | Pyxis |
| Period | 11.110 ms (90 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 4.9×10⁻²⁰ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 3.6 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 7.5×10⁸ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 1.4×10³³ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 75.7 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 900 pc (2.9 thousand ly) |
| Companion | helium white dwarf (estimated), ~0.42 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 18.738 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.000010 |
| Discovery | 2006 · pkshl, htru_pks |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 9h 00m 43.9s |
| Declination (J2000) | −31° 44′ 31″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 58° N. South of latitude 58° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in February, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around 910 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 52 million years.