List of neutron stars

Zooming to RX J1856.5−3754 which is one of the Magnificent Seven and, at a distance of about 400 light years, the closest known neutron star.

Neutron stars are the collapsed cores of supergiant stars.[1] They are created as a result of supernovas and gravitational collapse,[2] and are the second smallest and densest class of stellar objects.[3] In the cores of these stars, protons and electrons combine to form neutrons.[2] Neutron stars can be classified as pulsars if they are magnetized, if they rotate, and if they emit beams of electromagnetic radiation out of their magnetic poles.[4]

  1. ^ Heger, A.; Fryer, C. L.; Woosley, S. E.; Langer, N.; Hartmann, D. H. (2003). "How Massive Single Stars End Their Life". Astrophysical Journal. 591 (1): 288–300. arXiv:astro-ph/0212469. Bibcode:2003ApJ...591..288H. doi:10.1086/375341. S2CID 59065632.
  2. ^ a b "Imagine the Universe!: Neutron Stars". National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Goddard Space Flight Center. 23 September 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  3. ^ Glendenning, Norman K. (2012). Compact Stars: Nuclear Physics, Particle Physics and General Relativity (illustrated ed.). Springer Science & Business Media. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-4684-0491-3. Archived from the original on 2017-01-31. Retrieved 2016-03-21.
  4. ^ "NASA's NICER Delivers Best-ever Pulsar Measurements, 1st Surface Map". 11 December 2019.