Pulsar
PSR J1012-4235
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 322 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 37.973 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 | 3.101 ms (322 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 6.5×10⁻²¹ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 7.5 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 1.4×10⁸ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 8.7×10³³ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 71.7 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 372 pc (1.2 thousand ly) |
| Companion | helium white dwarf (estimated), ~0.31 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 37.973 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.000346 |
| Discovery | 2015 · FermiAssoc |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 10h 12m 12.9s |
| Declination (J2000) | −42° 35′ 54″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 47° N. South of latitude 47° 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 813. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 22 million years.