Pulsar
PSR J1701-3006B
Millisecond pulsar · in the globular cluster M62(NGC6266)
A millisecond pulsar spinning 278 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 3.47 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 | Ophiuchus |
| Period | 3.594 ms (278 Hz) |
| Dispersion measure | 113.3 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 6,410 pc (20.9 thousand ly) |
| Location | in the globular cluster M62(NGC6266) |
| Companion | helium white dwarf (estimated), ~0.14 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 3.47 h |
| Discovery | 2003 · pksgc |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 17h 01m 12.7s |
| Declination (J2000) | −30° 06′ 49″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 60° N. South of latitude 60° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in June, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 21 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 371 million years.