Neutron Stars Explained in Simple Words for Laymen

Neutron stars are formed from the core of some starrs. Neutron stars generally have a radius of only around 12 km. With masses exceeding 1.4 times that of the Sun, these are some of the densest objects in the Universe. A tablespoonful of neutron star material could weigh as much as Mount Everest. They are called neutron stars because they are composed almost entirely of neutrons. There are also trace amounts of an equal number of electrons and protons, given the whole object a net neutral charge. Neutron stars also create one of the most powerful magnetic fields in the universe. Their magnetic fields can be as much as one million billion (or one quadrillion), times stronger than that of Earth. In fact, in 2004, a neutron star, located around 50,000 light-years away, underwent an outburst. Its magnetic field was so strong that it affected the Earth's ionosphere, even from that monumental distance! We have discovered more than 2,500 neutron stars so far. Some well-known examples include the Crab Pulsar, located in the Crab Nebula, and the Vela Pulsar, found in the Vela Supernova Remnant.