PSR J1903 + 0327
PSR J1903 + 0327 is a pulsar located approximately 21,000 light years from Earth. The pulsar rotates 465 times per second, making it one of the fastest known pulsars.
The neutron star moves around a neighboring star, which it orbits about every 95 days. The elliptical orbit it describes is unusual; it is believed that a third star is nearby. However, this has not yet been proven.
The pulsar has a diameter of about ten kilometers and 1.74 times the mass of the sun in the solar system .
PSR J1903 + 0327 was discovered in 2006 by a working group at the Arecibo Observatory led by astronomer David Champion .
Web links
- Press release from the University of Bonn
- Abstract of the publication on sciencemag.org (English), access to the full article is chargeable