PSR B1937+21
Pulsar in the constellation Vulpecula / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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PSR B1937+21 is a pulsar located in the constellation Vulpecula a few degrees in the sky away from the first discovered pulsar, PSR B1919+21.[1] The name PSR B1937+21 is derived from the word "pulsar" and the declination and right ascension at which it is located, with the "B" indicating that the coordinates are for the 1950.0 epoch. PSR B1937+21 was discovered in 1982 by Don Backer, Shri Kulkarni, Carl Heiles, Michael Davis, and Miller Goss.[6]
Observation data Epoch J2000 Equinox J2000 | |
---|---|
Constellation | Vulpecula[1] |
Right ascension | 19h 39m 38.560210s[2] |
Declination | +21° 34′ 59.14166″[2] |
Characteristics | |
Spectral type | Pulsar |
Astrometry | |
Proper motion (μ) | RA: -0.130[3] mas/yr Dec.: -0.464[3] mas/yr |
Parallax (π) | <0.28[2] ± 0.08 mas |
Distance | >3600[4] pc |
Details | |
Rotation | 1.5578065 ms[2] |
Age | 2.29 × 108[5] years |
Other designations | |
PSR B1937+214, 4C21.53, PSR J1939+213 | |
Database references | |
SIMBAD | B1937+21 data |
It is the first discovered millisecond pulsar, with a rotational period of 1.557708 milliseconds, meaning it completes almost 642 rotations per second.[7] This period was far shorter than astronomers considered pulsars capable of reaching, and led to the suggestion that pulsars can be spun-up by accreting mass from a companion.[8]
The rotation of PSR B1937+21, along with other millisecond pulsars discovered later, are very stable in their rotation. They are capable of keeping time as well as atomic clocks. PSR B1937+21 is unusual in that it is one of few pulsars which occasionally emits particularly strong pulses. The flux density of the giant pulses emitted by PSR B1937+21 are the brightest radio emission ever observed. These properties of PSR B1937+21, and its unexpected discovery, are credited with helping revitalize research on pulsars.