Chandrasekhar limit

American  

[shahn-druh-say-kahr] / ˌʃɑn drəˈseɪ kɑr /

noun

Astronomy.

1. the mass limit above which a star has too much mass to become a white dwarf after gravitational collapse, approximately 1.44 solar masses.

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Chandrasekhar limit British  

noun

1. astronomy the upper limit to the mass of a white dwarf, equal to 1.44 solar masses. A star having a mass above this limit will continue to collapse to form a neutron star

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Chandrasekhar limit Scientific  

1. The maximum size of a stable white dwarf, approximately 3 × 10 ³⁰ kg (about 1.4 times the mass of the Sun). Stars with mass higher than the Chandrasekhar limit ultimately collapse under their own weight and become neutron stars or black holes. Stars with a mass below this limit are prevented from collapsing by the degeneracy pressure of their electrons.

2. See more at degeneracy pressure

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Etymology

Origin of Chandrasekhar limit

First recorded in 1975–80; named after U.S. astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar ( def. ), who formulated it

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Chandrasekhar limit

Although the findings come from computer simulations rather than direct observations of white dwarfs growing to these extreme masses, they offer a possible evolutionary pathway for stars that exceed the traditional Chandrasekhar limit.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026

The Chandrasekhar limit has traditionally provided an important part of the physical framework for understanding these explosions.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026

Just short of the Chandrasekhar limit, at about 1.4 solar masses, the density and temperature of the core shoot up.

From Science Magazine ● Jun. 4, 2020

All stars that have masses below the Chandrasekhar limit when they run out of fuel will become white dwarfs, no matter what mass they were born with.

From Textbooks ● Oct. 13, 2016

Stars with masses above the Chandrasekhar limit, on the other hand, have a big problem when they come to the end of their fuel.

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking

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