Pulsar
PSR J1402+1306
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 170 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 52.493 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 | Boötes |
| Period | 5.892 ms (170 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 1.3×10⁻²⁰ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 6.9 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 2.9×10⁸ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 2.6×10³³ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 8.7 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 696 pc (2.3 thousand ly) |
| Companion | helium white dwarf (estimated), ~0.32 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 52.493 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.000051 |
| Discovery | 2022 · FermiAssoc |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 14h 02m 46.4s |
| Declination (J2000) | +13° 06′ 58″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 77° S. North of latitude 77° N 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 245 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 40 million years.