Pulsar
PSR J1417-4402
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 375 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 5.374 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 | Centaurus |
| Period | 2.664 ms (375 Hz) |
| Dispersion measure | 55.0 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 4,400 pc (14.4 thousand ly) |
| Companion | helium white dwarf (estimated), ~0.26 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 5.374 days |
| Discovery | 2016 · FermiAssoc |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 14h 17m 30.6s |
| Declination (J2000) | −44° 02′ 57″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 46° N. South of latitude 46° 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 14 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 255 million years.