Pulsar planet

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An artist's rendering of the planetary system by PSR B1257 + 12 .

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

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Scientists crack mystery of planet formation . CNN.com. April 5, 2006. Retrieved April 5, 2006.