Neutron Stars Pack Up to 2 Solar Masses Into 20-Kilometre Spheres
Updated
Updated · spacedaily.com · Jul 8
Neutron Stars Pack Up to 2 Solar Masses Into 20-Kilometre Spheres
2 articles · Updated · spacedaily.com · Jul 8
Summary
A neutron star can compress roughly one to two solar masses into a body about 20 to 22 kilometres across, making it one of the densest known objects short of black holes.
NASA’s shorthand says a sugar-cube-sized amount would have a mass of about 1 trillion kilograms—around 1 billion tons on Earth—though that is an equivalent-mass comparison, not a transportable sample.
These objects form when a massive star’s core collapses after fusion fails; if the remnant is not heavy enough to become a black hole, neutron degeneracy pressure halts the collapse.
Their layered interiors—crust, neutron-rich regions, free neutrons and an uncertain core—make neutron stars natural laboratories for ultra-dense matter that cannot be reproduced directly on Earth.
The exact maximum stable mass remains uncertain because it depends on the still-unresolved physics of the interior, with extra mass pushing a neutron star toward black-hole collapse.