How are white dwarfs and neutron stars related? White dwarfs are formed from the collapse of low mass stars, less than about 10 time the mass of the Sun. This star loses most of its mass in a wind, leaving behind...
What is the observational evidence for the existence of black holes? X-ray vision The first observational evidence for a black hole emerged in 1971, and this too came from a binary star system within our own galaxy. Called Cygnus X-1, the...
Is a neutron star denser than a nucleus? The density in the interior of neutron stars is several times as high as that in the interior of atomic nuclei where practically all mass of atoms is concentrated. Do all neutron stars...
Are neutron stars high density? Neutron stars are among the densest objects in the cosmos. They average only about 12 miles in diameter but are denser than our sun, which is more than 72,000 times bigger than a neutron star. What...
Why are white dwarfs not pulsars? A pulsar is a type of neutron star, a collapsed core of an extremely massive star that exploded in a supernova. Whereas white dwarfs have incredibly high densities by earthly standards, neutron stars are even...
What causes pulsars to pulse? The magnetic axis of the pulsar determines the direction of the electromagnetic beam, with the magnetic axis not necessarily being the same as its rotational axis. This misalignment causes the beam to be seen once for...
How do we detect black holes quizlet? How do astronomers detect Black Holes? Black holes cannot be observed directly, since not even light can escape from them. We can detect them based on their gravitational influences on other objects that we...
Why are neutron stars hot? A violent thermonuclear flash, much like what happens inside a nuclear bomb, is the result. An enormous amount of energy is released, heating the surface of the neutron star to temperatures of 15 million degrees. Are...
Can a 5 solar-mass neutron star exist? Summary: Astrophysicists set a new limit for the maximum mass of neutron stars: It cannot exceed 2.16 solar masses. Astrophysicists at Goethe University Frankfurt set a new limit for the maximum mass of neutron...
Where is the IceCube Neutrino Observatory? IceCube, the South Pole neutrino observatory, is a cubic-kilometer particle detector made of Antarctic ice and located near the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. It is buried beneath the surface, extending to a depth of about...