Neutron Stars and Pulsars

Neutron Stars

Some basic info: 
Neutron stars are one of the possible ends to a dying star, and typically result from stars with mass greater than 4 to 8 times that of our Sun. They form when a dying star has used all of its nuclear fuel and undergoes a supernova explosion, which blows off the outer layers of the star and leaves a central region, which collapses under gravity. This collapse is so great that protons and electrons are forced to combine and form neutrons.
Neutron stars may appear in supernova remnants as isolated objects. They may also appear in binary systems, where astronomers are able to measure its mass. Four known neutron stars are thought to have planets.

Characteristics and properties:
-typically about 20 kilometers in diameter
-mass of about 1.4 times our Sun
-As a result of this much mass compacted into such a small space, the neutron star has an extremely high density. On Earth terms, a teaspoonful would weigh a billion tons.
-To give another visual, it's the mass of our Sun condensed into the size of Sarasota County. Whoa.
-The small size and high density create a surface gravitational field of about two hundred billion times that of Earth. The magnetic fields on a neutron star can be a million times stronger than the strongest produced on Earth.
-The star is not composed of entirely neutrons-- a percentage of charged particles still remain.
-The closest neutron star is nicknamed Calvera and is located in the constellation Ursa Minor.




 Pulsars

Some basic info: 
Pulsars are basically neutron stars that rotate, making them appear as though they "pulse." Pulsars were discovered by Jocelyn Burnell in 1967 as radio sources that seemed to blink off and on at a constant rate. Today, the brightest pulsars are observed at almost every wavelength of light.


Characteristics and properties:
-Pulsars have jets of particles moving at almost the speed of light streaming out above their magnetic poles. These streams produce strong beams of light.
-The beams of light sweep around with the rotation of the pulsar, so from Earth, the formation appears to be blinking.
-The magnetic and rotational axes of a pulsar are misaligned, similar to how "true north" and "magnetic north" are not the same on Earth.
-The rotation is the star's source of energy.
-Some pulsars emit X-rays.
-In some X-ray binaries, a neutron star and a normal star form a binary system. The neutron star's strong gravitational force pulls material from its partner star, and the material is funneled into the neutron star at its magnetic poles in a process called "accretion." The material heats up so much that it produces X-rays, the pulses of which are seen when the star rotates through Earth's line of sight.