Pulsar
PSR J1400-1431
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 324 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 9.547 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 | Virgo |
| Period | 3.084 ms (324 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 7.2×10⁻²¹ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 6.8 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 1.5×10⁸ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 9.7×10³³ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 4.9 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 278 pc (906.7 ly) |
| Companion | helium white dwarf (estimated), ~0.31 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 9.547 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.000001 |
| Discovery | 2013 · gbt350, FermiBlind, gbncc |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 14h 00m 37.0s |
| Declination (J2000) | −14° 31′ 47″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 75° N. South of latitude 75° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in April, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around the year 1119. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 16 million years.