PSR B1257+12

Artist's impression of PSR B1257+12 system.

PSR B1257+12, also called as Lich, is a pulsar located roughly 2,300 light-years away, in the constellation of Virgo. It is a millisecond pulsar, a rapidly spinning neutron star.[1][2]

This pulsar was the first star system ever discovered to have confirmed exoplanets. It was first detected in 1990 by a Polish astronomer Aleksander Wolszczan using the Arecibo Observatory radio telescope.[3]

Planetary system

PSR B1257+12 planets: Draugr, Poltergeist, Phobetor.

Lich is orbited by three confirmed extrasolar planets, which are designated as PSR B1257+12 b, c, and d. In 2015, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) gave these planets an official mythological names alongside the host star:

  • Draugr (b, alternatively A): The innermost planet with an extremely low mass.
  • Poltergeist (c, alternatively B): A rocky world roughly four times heavier than Earth.
  • Phobetor (d, alternatively C): The furthest planet, which has a mass roughly 3.9 times that of Earth.

Because these exoplanets constantly experience deadly radiation coming from the pulsar, scientists believe life, as we know, cannot exist on them.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "SIMBAD - PSR B1257+12". simbad.cds.unistra.fr. Retrieved 2026-06-28.
  2. ↑ "IAU Catalog of Star Names". 4 April 2022. Retrieved 2026-06-28.
  3. ↑ Wolszczan, A.; Frail, D. A. (January 9, 1992). "A planetary system around the millisecond pulsar PSR1257 + 12". Nature. 355 (6356): 145–147. Bibcode:1092Natur.355..145W. doi:10.1038/355145a0.
  4. ↑ Podsiadlowski, P. (1993). "Planet Formation Scenarios Around Pulsars". Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series. 36: 149–165. Bibcode:1993ASPC...36..149P.


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