A celestial object of very small radius (typically 30 km) and very high density, composed predominantly of closely packed neutrons. Neutron stars are thought to form by the gravitational collapse of the remnant of a massive star after a supernova explosion, provided that the star is insufficiently massive to produce a black hole.
〔天文〕中子星
Example sentencesExamples
The longer ones are generally believed to result when a massive star collapses into a black hole, rather than into a neutron star as in a supernova explosion.
The heavier elements we see in the world today were all ejected from stars that had reached the end of their lifespan and exploded into supernovas before settling into old age as a white dwarf, a neutron star or a black hole.
By observing the companion closely in the coming years it may even be possible to detect a neutron star or black hole emerge from the remnants of the explosion ‘in real time’.
The final state of this explosion would be a neutron star or black hole.
A pulsar is a rotating neutron star, a remnant of the explosive death throes of a star at least eight times as massive as our own sun.
Definition of neutron star in US English:
neutron star
noun
Astronomy
A celestial object of very small radius (typically 18 miles/30 km) and very high density, composed predominantly of closely packed neutrons. Neutron stars are thought to form by the gravitational collapse of the remnant of a massive star after a supernova explosion, provided that the star is insufficiently massive to produce a black hole.
〔天文〕中子星
Example sentencesExamples
The longer ones are generally believed to result when a massive star collapses into a black hole, rather than into a neutron star as in a supernova explosion.
The final state of this explosion would be a neutron star or black hole.
The heavier elements we see in the world today were all ejected from stars that had reached the end of their lifespan and exploded into supernovas before settling into old age as a white dwarf, a neutron star or a black hole.
A pulsar is a rotating neutron star, a remnant of the explosive death throes of a star at least eight times as massive as our own sun.
By observing the companion closely in the coming years it may even be possible to detect a neutron star or black hole emerge from the remnants of the explosion ‘in real time’.