It may seem crazy to think that there are things in the universe scarier than a Black Hole, but a Neutron Star might just be that. Join us as we explore why that might be!
8. Let's Define A Black Hole
Before we get into the power and fear of Neutron Stars, it's important to know exactly what a Black Hole is and why they too are to be feared. Because while you might have a loose definition as to what they are what they do, they're actually far more complex than you might realize. Which is why many people in NASA and other space programs are fascinated by them.
If you're looking for a technical definition, this is how NASA describes Black Holes:
"A black hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light cannot get out. The gravity is so strong because matter has been squeezed into a tiny space. This can happen when a star is dying."
This singularity as it is often called is a bit of a mystery in space, and for a very good reason. You see, black holes can form in large sizes, small sizes, and sometimes they don't even need a fully fledged star to form at all! Which is scary in the sense that it means black holes can form in various ways.
Plus, since no light can actually escape them, it means that they can't technically be seen by anyone. That being said, it's easy to "see their work", as the intense gravity of the Black Holes is enough to stretch objects from their "starting point" and slowly pull them to the Black Hole. This is known as spaghettification, because like a stretched piece of spaghetti, the object will get thinner and thinner until nothings exists but particles. And if you think that a Black Hole is limited in what it can absorb, you would be wrong. Very wrong in fact. If it is close enough, it'll break down a star, a planet, multiple stars and planets at once, etc. It's a question of range more than anything.
But there's a catch to that, as you won't be able to observe the spaghettification yourself. Why? Remember, no light escapes the void that is the Black Hole, so because of that, you'll see the last known position of the object that light allows you to see. It'll seem like they're stuck in place and slowly going away until they're gone. When in fact, they or it will be slowly pulled apart.
So just based on that alone you can see why Black Holes aren't just an entity in space, they're something to be feared by every living thing, and NASA is trying to map them all out in the universe as best they can so that we don't get caught up in them at any point in time.
So given all of that fear and power that Black Holes give off, how the heck is a star scarier than that?
7. The Birth Of A Neutron Star
Believe it or not, Black Holes and Neutron Stars do share many things in common aside from being objects of great power and being something to avoid when possible. For example, the way they're created is somewhat similar, as they both depend on the of stars in certain cases (Black Holes can form many different ways for the record).
Stars may not look it, but just like planets they thrive on a certain balance. Mainly, the balance of the gasses that are within them and the gravity that is exerted on them. The reason that stars are able to be balls of gas in the sky is because of this balance. The gravity of the star pushes gasses like Hydrogen and Helium down, causing molecules to fuse in order to emit light and energy, which is why we feel warm because of the sun. However, eventually, the gasses needed to maintain the balance, in this case Hydrogen and Helium, gets burned out. When that balance is thrown out the window, bad things start to happen.
Usually when the balance is disrupted the sun will transform into a red supergiant, where it will begin the end of its lifecycle before it gets turned back into a new star via a White Dwarf. But in certain massive stars, the balance that is lost by the gasses that are gone causes a chain reaction. One that causes the core of the massive star to be compressed, and that gets a chain reaction of elements to transform into one thing and then another until only Iron is left. Yeah, a star can literally turn its core into solid Iron, and that's bad.
Because Iron has no energy to give off, and that massive ball of iron will get crushed by the gravity of the star itself. Then, the electrons of the core will start to transform into Neutrons, and via the compression of both the core and the outer layer, a "supernova " will occur. Where the core continues to be compressed, but everything else in the star is jettisoned into the wilds of space itself. This is cool in context, especially when you consider that the light that will be emitted by this can eclipse entirely galaxies (which means you probably shouldn't stare at it...you'll go blind), which shows just how powerful the is.
However, the result of all of this compression and destruction is a Neutron Star..