![]() The exact internal structure of a neutron star is also the subject of much debate. ![]() ![]() Some expect that this mass bracket will eventually be found to be populated by ultra-lightweight black holes, but until now none have been found. Astrophysicists refer to a kind of “missing mass,” occurring between about two solar masses (the theoretical maximum mass of a neutron star) and five solar masses (the theoretical minimum mass of a black hole). In terms of mass, the dividing line between neutron stars and black holes is the subject of much debate. A black hole will form instead of a neutron star. If, after the supernova, the core of the star has enough mass, then – according to current understanding – the gravitational collapse will continue. ![]() What gravity has created is a superdense, neutron-rich material – called neutronium – in a city-sized sphere. Thus the neutron star gets its name from its composition. Gravity continues to compress it, to a point where the atoms become so compacted and so close together that electrons are violently thrust into their parent nuclei, combining with the protons to form neutrons. With most of the star blown into space, the core remains, which may only possess a couple of times the mass of our sun. This whole process takes perhaps a couple of seconds.īut gravity’s victory is not yet complete. A shock wave travels to the core and rebounds, blowing the star apart. With its nuclear fuel exhausted and the outward pressure removed, gravity suddenly compresses the star inward. In a supernova explosion, gravity suddenly and catastrophically gets the upper hand in the war it has been waging with the star’s internal pressure for millions or billions of years. This fusion “burning” is the process by which stars shine. The outward pressure is caused by nuclear fusion at the star’s core. Gravity tries to compress the star while the star’s internal pressure exerts an outward push. Throughout much of their lives, stars maintain a delicate balancing act. Here’s a comparison of a neutron star’s typical diameter with the city of Chicago. They pack roughly the mass of our sun into a sphere with the diameter of a city. Neutron stars are the collapsed cores of massive stars. That’s more than the weight of Mount Everest, Earth’s highest mountain. ![]() So perhaps you can see that neutron stars are very, very dense! A tablespoon of neutron star material would weigh more than 1 billion U.S. In a neutron star, all its large mass – up to about twice as much as our sun’s – is squeezed into a star that’s only about 10 miles (15 km) across, or about the size of an earthly city. Now consider that our sun has about 100 times Earth’s diameter. They’re among the most bizarre objects in the universe.Ī typical neutron star has about about 1.4 times our sun’s mass, but they range up to about two solar masses. These small, incredibly dense cores of exploded stars are neutron stars. When – at the end of its life – a massive star explodes as a supernova, its core can collapse to end up as a tiny and superdense object with not much more than our sun’s mass. Image via ncorde/ Daniel Molybdenum/ NASA/ Wikimedia Commons. Thus this image portrays the space around the neutron star as being curved. The star’s tiny size and extreme density give it incredibly powerful gravity at its surface. ![]()
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