Pulsar planet
Pulsar planets are exoplanets that pulsars or neutron stars orbiting. The first of these planets was discovered around a millisecond pulsar and was also the first exoplanet to be discovered.
Pulsar planets are found using the pulsar timing method, i.e. via anomalies of the pulse period . All celestial bodies orbiting a pulsar cause regular changes in the pulse period. Since pulsars rotate at a very constant speed, deviations can be determined relatively easily using precise measurement methods.
In 2006 it was discovered that the pulsar 4U 0142 + 61 , located 13,000 light years from Earth, has a protoplanetary disk . The discovery was made using the Spitzer Space Telescope at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology by a team led by Deepto Chakrabarty . The disk was probably formed from metal-rich deposits of a supernova that formed the pulsar around 100,000 years ago. They are similar to those found around sun-like stars , suggesting that similar planets will also form.
Pulsar planets probably can not live accommodate as we know it because of the high degree of ionizing radiation , which irradiates the pulsar, and the associated end lack of visible light makes any known form of life impossible.
List of known pulsar planets
Note: M J means the mass of Jupiter , and M E the mass of the earth .
Confirmed planets
pulsar | planet | Dimensions |
---|---|---|
PSR B1620-26 | PSR B1620-26 b | 2.5 M J |
Lich | Draugr | 0.020 M E |
poltergeist | 4.3 M E | |
Phobetor | 3.90 M E | |
PSR B1257 + 12 e | 0.0004 M E | |
PSR B0329 + 54 | PSR B0329 + 54 b | > 2 M E |
Questionable planets
pulsar | planet | Dimensions |
---|---|---|
PSR B1828-10 | PSR B1828-10 A | 3 M E |
PSR B1828-10 B | 12 M E | |
PSR B1828-10 C | 8 M E |
Protoplanetary disks
pulsar | Protoplanetary disk |
---|---|
4U 0142 + 61 | 4U 0142 + 61's Proplyd |
See also
Web links
- beltoforion.de: Methods of Exoplanet Discovery - The Pulsar Timing Method On: beltoforion.de Retrieved on April 9, 2017.
Individual evidence
- ^ Scientists crack mystery of planet formation . CNN.com. April 5, 2006. Retrieved April 5, 2006.