Pulsar
PSR J1911-1114
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 276 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 2.717 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 | Aquila |
| Period | 3.626 ms (276 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 1.4×10⁻²⁰ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 4.1 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 2.3×10⁸ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 1.2×10³⁴ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 31.0 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 1,069 pc (3.5 thousand ly) |
| Companion | helium white dwarf (estimated), ~0.14 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 2.717 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.000002 |
| Discovery | 1996 · pks70, gbncc |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 19h 11m 49.3s |
| Declination (J2000) | −11° 14′ 23″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 79° N. South of latitude 79° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in July, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around 1462 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 62 million years.