Neutron Star
Proposed in 1928 by S. Chandrashekar
- Star collapses under gravity to such a density that electrons and protons combine to form Neutrons!
- Like one giant nucleus!
- Extremely dense: Mass > our sun in a sphere of radius a few km!
- Observed as “Pulsars”
- Discovered by Radio Telescopes in England in 1967
- Graduate Student Jocelyn Bell observed very strong radio signals from certain galaxies. Pulse at rates of thousands of pulses per second! Extremely regular!
- Interpreted as very small neutron stars rotating at thousands of rotations per second !
Radio Waves are our main way to observe Pulsars