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Neutron star

Vela X-1

Also GP Velorum

Open in Ouranos

An X-ray pulsar fed by the wind of a blue supergiant star it orbits every 9 days.

Measured

Distance
6,573 light-years
Constellation
Vela
Position (J2000)
RA 9h 02m 07s, Dec −40.55°

How far, from the Sun

6,570 light-years. To cross it:

  • Light6,570 years
  • Voyager 1's speed117 million years
  • Driving at 100 km/h70.9 billion years

Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.

Facts

  • Its neutron star is unusually heavy, at about 1.8 times the Sun's mass or more.
  • Its distance comes from a Gaia parallax: the tiny yearly shift in its position as the Earth circles the Sun.

Where this comes from

  • Gaia DR3 parallax 0.4962 ± 0.0152 mas, Gaia DR3 5620657678322625920 (Gaia Collaboration 2023, A&A 674, A1)
  • This research has made use of the SIMBAD database, CDS, Strasbourg, France (Wenger et al. 2000, A&AS 143, 9).
  • This research has made use of the VizieR catalogue access tool, CDS, Strasbourg, France (DOI: 10.26093/cds/vizier).

Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.