Pulsar
PSR J1757-5322
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 113 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 10.88 h orbit with a CO white dwarf. Period, spin-down, distance and orbit come from the ATNF Pulsar Catalogue; the beam geometry is illustrative.
| Type | Pulsar |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Ara |
| Period | 8.870 ms (113 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 2.6×10⁻²⁰ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 5.3 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 4.9×10⁸ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 1.5×10³³ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 30.8 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 833 pc (2.7 thousand ly) |
| Companion | CO white dwarf (estimated), ~0.67 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 10.88 h |
| Eccentricity | 0.000004 |
| Discovery | 2001 · pkssw, htru_pks |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 17h 57m 15.1s |
| Declination (J2000) | −53° 22′ 27″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 37° N. South of latitude 37° 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 692 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 48 million years.