PSR J1748−2446ad

Common card · No. 211465

PSR J1748−2446ad is the fastest-spinning pulsar known, at 716.35 Hz (times per second), or 42,981 revolutions per minute (1.3959 milliseconds). This pulsar was discovered by Jason W. T. Hessels of McGill University on November 10, 2004, and confirmed on January 8, 2005. If the neutron star is assumed to contain less than two times the mass of the Sun, within the typical range of neutron stars, its radius is constrained to be less than 16 km. At its equator it is spinning at approximately 24% of the speed of light, or over 70,000 km per second. The pulsar is located in a globular cluster of stars called Terzan 5, located approximately 18,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius. It is part of a binary system and undergoes regular eclipses with an eclipse magnitude of about 40%. Its orbit is highly circular, with a 26-hour period. The other object in the system is at least 0.14 solar masses, with a radius of 5–6 solar radii. Hessels and collaborators state that the companion...

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