Discovered in the Parkes 70 cm survey,[5] it remains the closest and brightest millisecond pulsar (MSP) known.
It emits a searchlight-like radio beam that sweeps past the Earth each time it rotates.
Currently the most precisely located object outside of the Solar System, PSR J0437-4715 is 156.3 parsecs or 509.8 light-years distant.
PSR J0437−4715 is the first MSP to have its X-ray emission detected and studied in detail.
[9] Optical observations indicate that the binary companion of PSR J0437-4715 is most likely a low-mass helium white dwarf.