PSR J0540−6919

PSR J0540−6919^[1] (PSR B0540−69)^[1] is a pulsar in the Tarantula Nebula of the Large Magellanic Cloud.^[4] It is the first extragalactic gamma-ray pulsar discovered.^[5]

PSR J0540−6919
PSR B0540−69

PSR B0540-69 and its surrounding supernova remnant imaged by the Chandra X-ray Observatory
Observation data Epoch J2000.0[1]      Equinox J2000.0[1]
Constellation	Dorado
Right ascension	05h 40m 10.84s[1]
Declination	−69° 19′ 54.2″[1]
Apparent magnitude (V)	22.0[2]
Characteristics
Spectral type	Pulsar
Variable type	Pulsar
Astrometry
Distance	161,000 ly (49,400[2] pc)
Details
Rotation	50 ms[3]
Age	1660[2] years
Other designations
PSR J0540−6919,[1] PSR B0540-69,[1] PKS 0540−693[1]
Database references
SIMBAD	data

History

This Crab-like pulsar was first discovered in X-rays in 1984^[6] and subsequently detected at radio wavelengths.^[7] Astronomers initially attributed the glow to collisions of subatomic particles accelerated in the shock waves produced by supernova explosions, and it took more than six years of observations by Fermi's Large Area Telescope to detect gamma-ray pulsations from J0540-6919.^[8]

In 2015, it was determined that J0540-6919 is responsible for about half of the gamma-ray flux from the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud.^[8] It was identified as a bright source of gamma radiation early in the Fermi mission.

See also

• Gamma-ray burst