Pulsar
PSR J2355+0051
Millisecond pulsar · binary system
A millisecond pulsar spinning 269 times per second: an old neutron star spun up again (“recycled”) by matter transferred from a companion. It shares a 11.751 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 | Pisces |
| Period | 3.719 ms (269 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 3.2×10⁻²¹ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 18.3 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 1.1×10⁸ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 2.5×10³³ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 11.1 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 959 pc (3.1 thousand ly) |
| Companion | helium white dwarf (estimated), ~0.28 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 11.751 days |
| Eccentricity | 0.000001 |
| Discovery | 2023 · fast_crafts, ar327 |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 23h 55m 51.3s |
| Declination (J2000) | +0° 51′ 10″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 89° S. It stands highest at midnight in September, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around 1103 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 55 million years.