Facts About Neutron Stars - Interesting and Amazing to Know
Neutron stars are incredible space objects that push the boundaries of our understanding of the universe. From mind-boggling densities to mind-bending physics, neutron stars have captured the imagination of scientists and anyone interested in space. We have collected the most interesting facts about neutron stars and carefully verified them. We will add and update information as science constantly makes new discoveries regarding such unimaginable objects.
Top 10 Amazing Facts
(Curious? Click on any image to discover more!)
Neutron stars experience time dilation due to their enormous gravitational force. For example, 8 years on a neutron star is equivalent to 10 years on Earth.
There is a type of rapidly spinning neutron star called a pulsar, also known as cosmic lighthouses. They emit beams of electromagnetic radiation so precise from their magnetic poles that some pulsars rival the accuracy of the most advanced atomic clocks on Earth.
Neutron stars are very small - about 10-30 kilometers in diameter, but they are as massive as our Sun and even more. A neutron star is so dense that one teaspoon of its material would weigh hundreds of millions of tons!
Neutron stars are the smallest and densest known stellar objects, excluding black holes and hypothetical objects.
Newly formed neutron stars spin several hundred times per second, with the fastest known rotating at 716 times per second and reaching a surface speed of nearly a quarter the speed of light.
There are about one billion neutron stars in the Milky Way, but most of them are old, cold, and radiate very little. Slowly rotating stars that don't gather matter is exceptionally difficult to detect.
Neutron stars have a gravitational field so powerful that it acts like a gravitational lens. Due to the strong deflection of light, more than half of the surface is visible from one point, making the normally invisible rear surface visible.
Neutron star atmosphere is incredibly thin, measuring only a few millimeters to centimeters in thickness. It consists of a highly compressed and exotic form of matter.
The closest known neutron star to Earth is about 400 light-years away. It belongs to a group of seven nearby neutron stars called The Magnificent Seven.
Neutron stars can host exoplanets. The first such exoplanets discovered were three planets in 1992–1994. These types of planets receive minimal visible light but are exposed to significant amounts of ionizing radiation and high-energy stellar wind.
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