Pulsar
PSR J1723-2837
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 539 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 14.77 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 | 1.856 ms (539 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 7.5×10⁻²¹ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 3.9 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 1.2×10⁸ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 4.7×10³⁴ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 19.7 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 926 pc (3.0 thousand ly) |
| Companion | helium white dwarf (estimated), ~0.28 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 14.77 h |
| Discovery | 2004 · pksmb |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 17h 23m 23.2s |
| Declination (J2000) | −28° 37′ 57″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 61° N. South of latitude 61° 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 around 995 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 54 million years.