Neutronitäjäisten

Neutronitäjäisten, also known as neutron stars, are the incredibly dense remnants of massive stars that have undergone a supernova explosion. They are among the most extreme objects in the universe, possessing a mass greater than our Sun compressed into a sphere only about 20 kilometers (12 miles) in diameter. This extreme density means that a teaspoon of neutron star material would weigh billions of tons.

The core of a neutron star is primarily composed of neutrons, hence its name. These neutrons are packed so tightly that they form a superfluid, exhibiting properties unlike any other known state of matter. The outer layers consist of a solid crust made of atomic nuclei and electrons, with a more fluid interior beneath.

Neutron stars can exhibit intense magnetic fields, billions or even trillions of times stronger than Earth's. These fields can channel charged particles, leading to beams of radiation that sweep across space. When these beams are pointed towards Earth, we observe them as pulsars, which emit regular pulses of radio waves, X-rays, or gamma rays.

The existence of neutron stars was first predicted by Walter Baade and Fritz Zwicky in 1934, and the first one was discovered in 1967 by Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Antony Hewish, who identified it as a pulsar. They are fascinating celestial objects that continue to be a subject of intense astronomical research, offering insights into the fundamental laws of physics under extreme conditions.