Difference between revisions of "Neutron Star"
From Discovery Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to searchm |
m |
||
| Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
---- | ---- | ||
[[Black Hole]] | [[Black Hole]] | ||
| − | |||
Revision as of 13:38, 28 March 2011
WARNING, NAVIGATIONAL HAZARD!
A neutron star is a stellar remnant, a super-compressed object left over when stars with a mass between 1.4 and about 3 times the mass of a medium class star exhaust their nuclear fuel and collapse inwards. The result is a condensed sphere of matter about 20 km (12 miles) across, with a gravitational field approximately 2 x 10^11 times stronger than that of a normal terrestrial planet.
- The density of a neutron star is so great that the protons and electrons making up the atoms fuse to form electrically neutral neutrons, the primary particles making up the neutron star. Because they are electrically neutral, such particles can be packed very closely together, resulting in a celestial object with similar density to that of the atomic nucleus.
- Some neutron stars are known to exist in Sirus, one in located in Puerto Rico, while the other is located in Omega-41. Civilian vessels not equipped for deep space exploration are advised to stay away from these systems, if you get caught by the gravity well of a neutron star there is little hope that you manage to escape.
See Also
