Pulsar
PSR J1439-5501
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 35 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 2.118 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 | Lupus |
| Period | 28.635 ms (35 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 1.4×10⁻¹⁹ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 3.2 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 2.0×10⁹ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 2.4×10³² erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 14.6 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 655 pc (2.1 thousand ly) |
| Companion | neutron star (estimated), ~1.38 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 2.118 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.000050 |
| Discovery | 2004 · pks70, FermiAssoc |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 14h 39m 39.7s |
| Declination (J2000) | −55° 01′ 24″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 35° N. South of latitude 35° 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 111 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 38 million years.