Pulsar
PSR J0921-5202
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 103 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 38.224 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 | Vela |
| Period | 9.680 ms (103 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 1.8×10⁻²⁰ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 8.5 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 4.2×10⁸ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 7.9×10³² erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 122.7 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 355 pc (1.2 thousand ly) |
| Companion | helium white dwarf (estimated), ~0.27 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 38.224 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.000014 |
| Discovery | 2012 · pksmb |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 9h 21m 59.9s |
| Declination (J2000) | −52° 02′ 38″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 38° N. South of latitude 38° 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 the year 868. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 21 million years.