The Vela Pulsar (PSR B0833-45 or PSR J0835-4510) is a radio, optical, X-ray and gamma-emitting pulsar associated with Vela Supernova Remnant, in the constellation of Vela.
Supernova origins [edit]
The association of the Vela pulsar with the Vela Supernova Remnant, made by astronomers at the University of Sydney in 1968,[3] was direct observational proof that supernovae form neutron stars.
Characteristics [edit]
It has a period of 89 milliseconds (the shortest known at the time of its discovery) and the remnant from the supernova explosion is estimated to be travelling at 1,200 km/s (750 mi/s).[4] It has the third brightest optical component of all known pulsars (V = 23.6 mag)[5] which pulses twice for every single radio pulse. The Vela pulsar is the brightest persistent object in the high energy gamma ray sky.
Vela X confusion [edit]
Note that this object has often been called Vela X, for reasons that appear historically unclear. Because of the possible confusion with Vela X-1, a very different kind of object that happens to lie nearby, referring to it as either "Vel X" or "Vela X" seems inadvisable.
Gallery [edit]
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Position of the Vela Pulsar in the Milky Way
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Video of Vela's particle jet
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References [edit]
- ^ "Vela pulsar". SIMBAD. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ Caraveo, P A; De Luca, A; Mignani, R P; Bignami, G F (10 November 2001). "The Distance to the Vela Pulsar Gauged with Hubble Space Telescope Parallax Observations". Astrophys. J. 561 (2): pp. 930–937. doi:10.1086/323377.
- ^ Large, M I; Vaughan, A E; Mills, B Y (26 October 1968). "A Pulsar Supernova Association?". Nature 220 (5165): pp. 340–341. Bibcode:1968Natur.220..340L. doi:10.1038/220340a0.
- ^ Lyne, Andrew G; Graham-Smith, Francis (1998). Pulsar Astronomy (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-59413-8.
- ^ Mignani, R P; Zharikov, R P; Caraveo, P A (1 October 2007). "The optical spectrum of the Vela pulsar". Astronomy & Astrophysics 473 (3): p. 891. arXiv:0707.2036. Bibcode:2007A&A...473..891M. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20077774.
External links [edit]
Coordinates: 
08h 35m 20.65525s, −45° 10′ 35.1545″
