How Neutron Stars Get Formed
Black holes may get more attention, but they are not the only possible end fate for super massive stars. If the mass of a massive star the less than the Chandreshakar limit, the star may become a neutron star after its nuclear fuel is exhausted. Neutron stars that rotate emit pulses of energy that earn rotating neutron stars the name pulsar. Stars whose mass is over the Chandreshakar limit collapse in on themselves to form a black hole.
Neutron stars form when the protons and electrons of a dying star collapse in and become dense enough to from neutrons. The density of material inside a neutron star is so great that an area of material about the size of a sugar cube would weigh as much as a mountain.
What Pulsars Are
A pulsar is a neutron star that emits pulses of radiation. The radiation of a pulsar occurs because the magnetic fields of the dead, cooling neutron star does not align perfectly with its poles. The magnetic fields of neutron stars, which can be a million times stronger than those found on Earth, combined with the rapid rotation cause the electrons near the stellar mass to produce an energy output of one trillion volts. As the pulsar rotates about its axis, the misalignment causes the pulsar to send out bursts of radiation which can be detected on Earth.
Pulsars First Thought to Be Extraterrestrial Intelligence
When scientists discovered the first radio emitting pulsar, it was thought that the radiation emitting from the pulsar might be a sign of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. The discovery excited scientists for a brief time until the more simple and correct explanation of neutron stars emerged.
Pulsars can emit radio, x-ray, or gamma radiation. Radio emission pulsars are the most common type of the 1500 pulsars known to exist, and gamma ray pulsars tend to be the newest Neutron stars and closer to our solar system. Only seven gamma ray pulsars are known to exist.
Neutron stars, like black holes, result from the demise of a massive star. While a black hole continues to collapse in on itself, the core matter of the original star that forms a neutron is enough to prevent the star from forming a singularity. As with a white dwarf, the smaller a neutron star is, the more it weighs. These stellar remnants of dead stars can range in age from ten thousand years to the oldest known object being ten billion years old.
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