Question: Astronomers recently found the massive Neutron Star ever discovered, called as MSP J0740+6620. Which one of the following statement is incorrect related to its discovery?
(a) Astronomers of West Virginia University (U.S) made this discovery
(b) They used the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) of the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Pocahontas County, United States (US)
(c) It is located some 4,600 light-years away from Earth
(d) It weighs 4.14 times more than the Sun
Answer: (d)
Related facts:
- As per report published in the journal Nature Astronomy, recently Astronomers at West Virginia University (U.S) have discovered the most massive neutron star ever called MSP J0740+6620.
- They used the Green Bank Telescope of the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Pocahontas County, United States.
- It is one of the densest objects in the known universe and is located some 4,600 light-years away from Earth. It should be known that one light-year is about six trillion miles.
- It weighs 2.14 times more than the Sun occupying a space that was only 30 kilometers across.
- The second massive neutron star which had been discovered in past was J0348+0432, with a mass about 2.01 solar masses.
Neutron stars and their features:
- Neutron stars are objects formed from the collapsed cores of large stars following a supernova explosion.
- The necessary condition is that a star greater in mass than our sun could only be converted in the form of a neutron star after completing its life.
- As per the calculation done by renowned physicist S. Chandrasekhar, Stars with mass more than 1.4 times that of the Sun will end up as a Neutron Star.
- Gravity presses the material in on itself so tightly that protons and electrons combine to make neutrons, yielding the name neutron star. Gravity on a neutron star is 2 billion times stronger than gravity on Earth.
- Their outer layers can blow off in an often-spectacular display, leaving behind a small, dense core that continues to collapse and finally becomes a neutron star.
- Neutron stars are also known as pulsars due to the pulses of radiation they emit as they rotate at high speeds.
- The most peculiar characteristic of Neutron stars is that their enormous mass is packed just inside a 20-kilometer (12.4 miles) diameter and they are so dense that a single teaspoon would weigh a billion tons.
Links:
https://www.space.com/most-massive-neutron-star-detected.html
https://www.livescience.com/most-massive-neutron-star-discovered.html
https://gizmodo.com/extremely-massive-neutron-star-may-be-the-largest-ever-1838146004
https://astronomycommunity.nature.com/users/291076-h-thankful-cromartie/posts/53628-relativistic-shapiro-delay-measurements-of-an-extremely-massive-millisecond-pulsar