PSR J1719-1438
PSR J1719-1438 is a millisecond pulsar with a spin time of 5.7 ms and is located about 4000 light years from Earth in the direction of the snake . Millisecond pulsars are normal pulsars at the beginning, which develop into a millisecond pulsar by absorbing matter from a companion star. The planet was discovered with the 64-meter Parkes radio telescope in Australia.
Diamond planet
Main article : PSR J1719-1438 b
A so-called diamond planet circles around PSR J1719-1438 . The researchers noticed small disturbances in the signal from PSR J1719-1438, which is caused by the gravity of a companion with little mass. This companion has a diameter of 60,000 km and orbits PSR J1719-1438 in just 2 hours and 10 minutes at a distance of 600,000 kilometers. Due to this proximity to the pulsar, the companion should actually be torn apart, but its density is so high that it remains intact.
"The density of the planet is at least as high as that of platinum and tells us a lot about its origin," says the head of the team, Matthew Bailes from Swinburne University of Technology in Australia.
It is believed that the companion is the nucleus of a "white dwarf" which has given 99.9% of its mass to the pulsar (neutron star). The remainder of the companion consists mostly of carbon and oxygen in crystalline form.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Spiegelonline: Researchers find diamond planets from August 26, 2011
- ^ Max Planck Society: The Diamond Planet of August 25, 2011.
- ↑ diamonds in the sky, M.Kramer (MPI Bonn) in SuW 11/2011, page 21