Pulsar
PSR J1157-5112
Radio pulsar · binary system
A neutron star spinning once every 0.044 seconds; the beams from its magnetic poles sweep across Earth on every turn. It shares a 3.507 days orbit with a neutron star. Period, spin-down, distance and orbit come from the ATNF Pulsar Catalogue; the beam geometry is illustrative.
| Type | Pulsar |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Centaurus |
| Period | 43.589 ms (23 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 1.4×10⁻¹⁹ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 4.8 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 2.5×10⁹ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 6.8×10³¹ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 39.7 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 961 pc (3.1 thousand ly) |
| Companion | neutron star (estimated), ~1.46 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 3.507 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.000402 |
| Discovery | 2001 · pkssw |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 11h 57m 08.2s |
| Declination (J2000) | −51° 12′ 56″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 39° N. South of latitude 39° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in March, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around 1109 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 56 million years.