Pulsar
PSR J1227-6208
Radio pulsar · binary system
A neutron star spinning once every 0.035 seconds; the beams from its magnetic poles sweep across Earth on every turn. It shares a 6.721 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 | Crux |
| Period | 34.528 ms (29 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 1.9×10⁻¹⁹ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 2.9 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 2.6×10⁹ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 1.8×10³² erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 362.9 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 9,469 pc (30.9 thousand ly) |
| Companion | neutron star (estimated), ~1.58 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 6.721 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.0011 |
| Discovery | 2013 · pksmb, htru_pks |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 12h 27m 00.4s |
| Declination (J2000) | −62° 08′ 44″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 28° N. South of latitude 28° 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 31 thousand years ago. At that time Homo sapiens was spreading out of Africa; there was no farming yet. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 548 million years.