The world of neutron stars

artiteacher Gravity that bends light

artiteacher The birth of cosmic monsters

Spinning in the dark—yeah! (Spinning fast!) / Squeezed so tight—oh-oh! (Squeezed so tight!)

artiteacher The bizarre world of nuclear pasta

artiteacher The gravity of a neutron star is so intense that it alters the path of light and warps time.

artiteacher Neutron stars pack more mass than our Sun into a sphere the size of a city, creating unimaginable density.

BETA

artiteacher The birth of cosmic monsters

Jul 7

Fun Fact

Neutron star density: A single sugar-cube-sized piece of a neutron star weighs about 1 billion tons, equal to the weight of all humanity.

Glossary

neutron star (noun)
An extremely dense celestial object consisting primarily of closely packed neutrons, formed by the collapse of a massive star. In 1934, Walter Baade and Fritz Zwicky proposed that these objects form during supernova explosions.

Gossip

Which nuclear pasta shape sounds the most appetizing?

Quiz

Approximately how wide is a typical neutron star?

artiteacher The extreme weight of nuclear matter

Quiz

What subatomic particles merge to form neutrons during a core collapse?

artiteacher How massive stars collapse

Quiz

Why can astronomers see parts of the back of a neutron star?

Quiz

Which shape of nuclear pasta is characterized by flat, sheet-like structures?

Quiz

What is the strongest known material in the universe, found inside a neutron star?

Quiz

What event triggers the birth of a neutron star?

Quiz

What is the minimum mass a star must have to potentially form a neutron star?

Quiz

A single teaspoon of neutron star material would weigh about how much on Earth?