Monday, March 28, 2011

APOD 3.7

What you are seeing right here is the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A, about 11,000 light-years away. It spans approximately 15 light-years, but what is so important about this picture is the inset. What is highlighted is the neutron star at the very center of the supernova. A neutron star is incredibly small and dense remains of the stellar core. This neutron core is different though, in the fact that this particular neutron star is cooling incredibly rapidly to the point that it is forming a frictionless neutron superfluid. This is so different and unique because it is the first observational for this bizarre state of matter.

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