Pulsar
PSR J1933-6211
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 282 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 12.819 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 | Pavo |
| Period | 3.543 ms (282 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 3.9×10⁻²¹ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 14.5 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 1.2×10⁸ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 3.4×10³³ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 11.5 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 1,000 pc (3.3 thousand ly) |
| Companion | helium white dwarf (estimated), ~0.38 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 12.819 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.000001 |
| Discovery | 2007 · pkssw |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 19h 33m 32.4s |
| Declination (J2000) | −62° 11′ 47″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 28° N. South of latitude 28° 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 1237 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 58 million years.