Pulsar
PSR J1625-0021
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 353 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 7.383 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 | Ophiuchus |
| Period | 2.834 ms (353 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 2.1×10⁻²⁰ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 2.1 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 2.5×10⁸ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 3.7×10³⁴ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 16.5 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 951 pc (3.1 thousand ly) |
| Companion | helium white dwarf (estimated), ~0.19 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 7.383 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.000003 |
| Discovery | 2021 · FermiAssoc |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 16h 25m 10.4s |
| Declination (J2000) | −0° 21′ 29″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 90° N. 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 1077 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 55 million years.