Pulsar
PSR J1544-2555
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 418 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 2.72 h 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 | Libra |
| Period | 2.390 ms (418 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 1.2×10⁻²⁰ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 3.3 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 1.7×10⁸ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 3.4×10³⁴ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 25.8 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 1,015 pc (3.3 thousand ly) |
| Companion | helium white dwarf (estimated), ~0.083 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 2.72 h |
| Discovery | 2025 · FermiAssoc |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 15h 44m 15.5s |
| Declination (J2000) | −25° 55′ 33″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 64° N. South of latitude 64° 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 1286 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 59 million years.