Amazing NASA Video Shows Two Neutron Stars Colliding to Form a Black Hole
NASA has released a spectacular new video depicting the collision of two neutron stars and resulting in the creation of a black hole. Scientists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center created the animation using a supercomputer.
A super-dense neutron star is one of the leftover remnants of the death of a much larger star—up to 30 times the size of the sun—that has died in a supernova event. According to NASA, a neutron star has a mass equal to 1.5 times the mass of the sun compressed into a ball about 12 miles (20 kilometers) across. Incredibly, one cubic centimeter of a neutron star would outweigh Mount Everest.
More: Amazing NASA Video Shows Two Neutron Stars Colliding to Form a Black Hole
The video is not embed-able so here is the direct link - well worth a watch:
Neutron Stars Tear Each Other To Shreds, Black Hole Ensues | Visualization
In this simulation, 2 neutron stars weigh in at 1.4 and 1.7 solar masses and are separated by only 11 miles. Intense tidal forces pull the stars apart as they spiral towards each other and the black hole is formed amidst the chaos.
