Pulsar
PSR J1036-8317
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 293 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 8.04 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 | Octans |
| Period | 3.408 ms (293 Hz) |
| Dispersion measure | 27.1 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 935 pc (3.0 thousand ly) |
| Companion | helium white dwarf (estimated), ~0.16 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 8.04 h |
| Discovery | 2015 · FermiAssoc |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 10h 36m 40.6s |
| Declination (J2000) | −83° 17′ 56″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 7° N. South of latitude 7° S it never sets.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around 1025 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 54 million years.