Exploring the Cosmos: What is a neutron star?
- Updated Thursday May 30 2024
Exploring the Cosmos: What is a neutron star?
Exploring the Cosmos: What are neutron stars?
Neutron star, as the name suggests is a star that has higher mass to volume ratio and thus progresses from its stable red supergiant state to a more ‘collapsed’ massive and dense neutron star. This is the precursor to a pulsar.
Now for those of you who are not acquainted with progression of stars known as ‘stellar evolution’, here is a quick informative video.
Studies indicate that the high pressure in the neutron star cause the electrons and protons to combine, and the star is made up mostly of neutrons.
The radius of neutron stars is in the magnitude of 10 kilometres, while the mass can be around 1.5 solar masses. You can imagine how dense this object is! The Sun has a radius of around 700,000 km.
Once formed neutron stars no long generate heat and gradually cool. They progress to become light emitting pulsars or magnetars. Neutron stars could also evolve through collisions or accretion with other stars.
Neutron stars are the most dense stellar body in the known universe apart from blackholes.
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