Geriatric Pulsar Still Kicking

Chandra_419_1024

chandra_419 February 26th, 2009

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Penn State/G.Pavlov et al.; Optical: ESO/VLT/UCL/R.Mignani et al.; Illustration: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss.

The composite image shows X-ray data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory (purple) and optical emission from Very Large Telescope (red, green and blue.) The Chandra source in the center of the image is the ancient pulsar PSR J0108-1431, or J0108 for short. At an age of about 200 million years, this pulsar is the oldest isolated pulsar ever detected in X-rays. This pulsar is slowing down as it ages and converting some of the energy that is being lost into X-rays, more efficiently than for any other known pulsar.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2009/j0108/

Curator: Chandra X-ray Observatory, Cambridge, MA, USA

Image Use Policy: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html

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Image Details

Image Type
Collage
Object Name
PSR J0108-1431
Subject - Milky Way
Star > Evolutionary Stage > Neutron Star > Pulsar

Distance

Universescale1
770 light years

Position Details

Position (FK5)
RA = 1h 8m 15.5s
DEC = -14° 31’ 52.8”
Constellation
Cetus

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Purple Chandra (ACIS) X-ray 300.0 pm
Blue VLT Ultraviolet 364.0 nm
Green VLT Optical 442.0 nm
Red VLT Optical 540.0 nm
Spectrum_xray1
Purple
Blue
Green
Red
Chandra_419_1280
×
ID
419
Subject Category
B.3.1.9.1  
Subject Name
PSR J0108-1431
Credits
X-ray: NASA/CXC/Penn State/G.Pavlov et al.; Optical: ESO/VLT/UCL/R.Mignani et al.; Illustration: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss.
Release Date
2009-02-26
Lightyears
770
Redshift
770
Reference Url
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2009/j0108/
Type
Collage
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Chandra, VLT, VLT, VLT
Instrument
ACIS, -, -, -
Color Assignment
Purple, Blue, Green, Red
Band
X-ray, Ultraviolet, Optical, Optical
Bandpass
-, -, -, -
Central Wavelength
0.3, 364.0, 442.0, 540.0
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
FK5
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
17.0646256349, -14.5313394717
Reference Dimension
Reference Pixel
Scale
Rotation
Coordinate System Projection:
Quality
Position
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
Chandra X-ray Observatory
URL
http://chandra.harvard.edu
Name
Email
cxcpub@cfa.harvard.edu
Telephone
617.496.7941
Address
60 Garden St.
City
Cambridge
State/Province
MA
Postal Code
02138
Country
USA
Rights
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html
Publisher
Chandra X-ray Observatory
Publisher ID
chandra
Resource ID
j0108.tif
Metadata Date
2012-08-22T15:00:30-04:00
Metadata Version
1.2
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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Universescalefull
770 light years

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