Stellar Collapse: The Birth of Neutron Stars

Neutron stars are born when massive stars exhaust their fuel and collapse under gravity.
The collapse follows a supernova explosion, blasting a star’s outer layers into space.
Gravity squeezes the core so tightly that protons and electrons merge into neutrons.
The result is a star only about 20 kilometers wide but heavier than the Sun.
A teaspoon of neutron star material would weigh billions of tons on Earth.
Collapse halts when neutrons resist further compression, creating a stable core.
If the collapsing star is too massive, it skips the neutron star stage and becomes a black hole.
The intense process produces heavy elements like gold and uranium, enriching the cosmos.
Stellar collapse releases huge amounts of energy, briefly outshining entire galaxies.
These violent deaths mark both an end and a beginning—fueling the birth of new stars and planets.