neutron star

American  

noun

1. an extremely dense, compact star composed primarily of neutrons, especially the collapsed core of a supernova.

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neutron star British  

noun

1. a star that has collapsed under its own gravity to a diameter of about 10 to 15 km. It is composed mostly of neutrons, has a mass of between 1.4 and about 3 times that of the sun, and a density in excess of 10 ¹⁷ kilograms per cubic metre

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neutron star Scientific  

1. A celestial object consisting of an extremely dense mass of neutrons, formed at the core of a supernova, where electrons and nuclei are compressed together so intensely by the force of gravity that protons and electrons merge together into neutrons. Though their mass is close to that of the Sun, the density of neutron stars is much higher—about 3 × 10 ¹¹ kilograms per cubic centimeter (by comparison, the density of steel is 7.7 grams per cubic centimeter). Neutron stars are typically about 10 km across, and rotate very rapidly. Due to the spinning of electrically charged protons and electrons at their surfaces, their rotation gives rise to strong magnetic fields. The existence of neutron stars was predicted in the 1930s but was not confirmed until the discovery of the first pulsar in 1967.

2. See more at pulsar

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neutron star Cultural  

1. A star about the size of the Earth, made almost entirely of neutrons. It is the end product of the evolution of some stars larger than the sun.

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Etymology

Origin of neutron star

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

The team aims to observe additional black holes and neutron stars during the telescope's next planned launch from Antarctica in 2027.

From Science Daily

Deepening research into the phenomena could help answer today’s grandest questions, such as what makes up the cores of neutron stars or how the behavior of dark energy could reveal the shape of the universe.

From New York Times

Just this week in Nature Astronomy, researchers reported an FRB that appeared to come from the merger of two neutron stars.

From Science Magazine

The short variety is likely spawned by collisions of superdense stellar corpses known as neutron stars, astronomers say.

From Scientific American

Moffat guesses the supernova remnant might instead stall out as a neutron star—the last stop before a collapsing star reaches a black hole’s ultimate oblivion.

From Scientific American