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Neutron Stars

The crushed remnant of a star that exploded as a supernova. Stars that are born with about 8 to 20 times the mass of the Sun blast most of their material into interstellar space in titanic explosions, leaving only their crushed, dense cores. Neutron stars are named after their composition: neutrons. In a star with a core that is 1.4 to 3 times the mass of the Sun, the core collapses so completely that electrons and protons combine to form neutrons. A full bathtub of neutron-star material (instead of water) would weigh as much as two Mount Everests. A neutron star is about 10-15 miles (16-24 km) in diameter, with a liquid neutron core and a crust of solid iron. Some neutron stars, called pulsars, spin rapidly (from once a second to several hundred times per second) and generate powerful magnetic fields.

Radio Programs

Ancient Planet The life of an ancient planet November 22, 2020

Heaviest Neutron Star Peeking into the heart of a dead star September 3, 2020

Vela Supernova Inflating a giant bubble April 11, 2020

Crab Pulsar Spinning up a dead star February 11, 2020

Heavy Merger “Jiggles” from a heavyweight merger November 27, 2019

Rare Earths The residue of stellar collisions October 9, 2019

Magnetars A stellar corpse to avoid March 5, 2019

Making a Black Hole Making a little black hole September 14, 2018

Crab Nebula Sculpting an interstellar crab April 19, 2018

Moon and Spica A low-key trip to the Moon January 25, 2018

Pulsars III Timing ripples in space and time November 29, 2017

Pulsars II “Dead” stars that spin like crazy November 28, 2017

Making Gold Making gold in the oddest of places November 6, 2017

Supernova 1987A Looking for a hidden star February 22, 2017

NICER A “nicer” kind of satellite February 21, 2017

Neutron Stars Crushing the core of a mighty star February 20, 2017

Vela X-1 A giant X-ray machine in the sky September 19, 2016

Bright and Brighter Boosting the “boom” of an exploding star June 7, 2016

Stellar Whopper The brightest of the bright March 22, 2016

Featured Images

Black hole begins to swallow a neutron star

Heavyweight Merger November 27, 2019
Debris disk around a neutron star

Stellar Afterlife September 19, 2018
NICER X-Ray Telescope Attached to International Space Station

A 'Nicer' View of the Sky February 21, 2017
Combined visible, X-ray image of M51, the whirlpool galaxy

Colorful Whirlpool June 4, 2014
Gold may have been created in the mergers of neutron stars

Golden Mergers December 23, 2013
Artist's concept of a neutron star's crust cracking

Cracking Up March 22, 2013
Artist's concept of the pulsar and planets in the system PSR B1257+12

Second-Chance Planets January 8, 2012
M1, the Crab Nebula, in a Hubble Space Telescope image

Crab Nebula January 6, 2012