• Question: How long can these stars live to?

    Asked by 08reyre to Evan on 20 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Evan Keane

      Evan Keane answered on 20 Jun 2011:

      You mean neutron stars? Well, they are not relying on a power source which will run out so they can kind of live forever. They will cool down over time but they will not die, IF they are left alone. They will also spin slower as time goes by. So in time they will be very cold and spinning slowly, but they won’t explode or anything so they won’t really die, just get quieter and quieter …

      BUT, if they are not left alone, and material was added to them, they could grow a bit and maybe go over the limit for exploding to form a black hole. That would be ANOTHER death for the star!

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