4U 0142+61

4U 0142+61 is a magnetar at an approximate distance of 13000 light-years from Earth, located in the constellation Cassiopeia.

4U 0142+61

Artist's conception of 4U 0142+61
Observation data
Epoch J2000      Equinox J2000
Constellation Cassiopeia
Right ascension 01 46 22.41s
Declination + 61° 45' 03.2"
Apparent magnitude (V) 25.62
Characteristics
B−V color index 0.63
Variable type Suspected
Astrometry
Proper motion (μ) RA: 26.58958 mas/yr
Dec.: +61.75264 mas/yr
Details
Luminosity0.63 L
Rotation8.68832905 s
Age? years
Other designations
PSR J0146+61, 1RXS J014621.5+614509
Database references
SIMBADdata

In an article published in Nature on April 6, 2006, Deepto Chakrabarty et al. of MIT revealed that a circumstellar disk was discovered around the pulsar. This may prove that pulsar planets are common around neutron stars. The debris disk is likely to be composed of mainly heavier metals. The star had undergone a supernova event approximately 100,000 years ago. The disk orbits about 1.6 million kilometers away from the pulsar and probably contains about 10 Earth-masses of material.[1]

References

  1. Wang, Zhongxiang; Chakrabarty, Deepto; Kaplan, David L. (April 2006). "A debris disk around an isolated young neutron star". Nature. 440 (7085): 772–775. arXiv:astro-ph/0604076. Bibcode:2006Natur.440..772W. doi:10.1038/nature04669. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 16598251.
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