There are about 100 million neutron stars in our galaxy. The nearest one bright enough to be detected is a few hundred light years away. There should be a whole bunch of dark ones much closer. read more
Neutron stars are created when giant stars die in supernovas and their cores collapse, with the protons and electrons essentially melting into each other to form neutrons. Credit: NASA/Dana Berry Neutron stars are city-size stellar objects with a mass about 1.4 times that of the sun. read more
Usually, they are detected only when they are either pulsars — a special type of neutron star — or have another star as a companion, and finding lone neutron stars is quite a rarity. read more
The neutron star discovered using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a rare variety that has both a low magnetic field and no stellar companion. The neutron star discovered using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is a rare variety that has both a low magnetic field and no stellar companion. read more