Pulsar
PSR J1543-5149
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 486 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 8.061 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 | Norma |
| Period | 2.057 ms (486 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 1.6×10⁻²⁰ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 2.0 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 1.9×10⁸ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 7.3×10³⁴ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 51.0 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 1,149 pc (3.7 thousand ly) |
| Companion | helium white dwarf (estimated), ~0.26 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 8.061 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.000021 |
| Discovery | 2012 · htru_pks, FermiBlind |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 15h 43m 44.1s |
| Declination (J2000) | −51° 49′ 55″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 38° N. South of latitude 38° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in May, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around 1723 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 66 million years.