Pulsar
PSR J1012+5307
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 190 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 14.51 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 | Ursa Major |
| Period | 5.256 ms (190 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 1.7×10⁻²⁰ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 4.9 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 3.0×10⁸ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 4.7×10³³ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 9.0 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 700 pc (2.3 thousand ly) |
| Companion | helium white dwarf (estimated), ~0.13 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 14.51 h |
| Eccentricity | 0.000001 |
| Discovery | 1995 · misc, gbncc, lotaas |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 10h 12m 33.4s |
| Declination (J2000) | +53° 07′ 02″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 37° S. North of latitude 37° N 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 258 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 41 million years.