What To Know
- According to NASAif the exploding star is between 7 and 19 times the mass of the Sun, we can observe a neutron star, if the star that bows out is more than 20 solar masses, then the star will end up transforming into a black hole.
- The pulsar that can be seen in the centre of the image rotates on itself 30 times per second and the supernova that caused it occurred in the year 1054 and could most certainly have been observed from Earth.
- Indeed, it should grow the equivalent of 250 times its current size and the history of the Earth will end there, because our planet will have been swallowed by the star which will then have become a red giant.
Launched in 2022, the James Webb Space Telescope has since been scrutinizing the Universe and its mysteries to reveal all its beauty. Galaxies, black holes, but also stars, the JWST makes all astronomers dream. Recently, the space telescope, notably helped by another space telescope, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, was able to capture a neutron star, one of the strangest objects in the Universe, in the Crab Nebula.
What is a neutron star?
Strictly speaking, a neutron star is no longer a star. Indeed, this star, whose density is only exceeded by black holes, is in fact only the remnant of a star. In fact, a neutron star is the result of one of the most cataclysmic events that can occur in the Universe: a supernova. According to NASAif the exploding star is between 7 and 19 times the mass of the Sun, we can observe a neutron star, if the star that bows out is more than 20 solar masses, then the star will end up transforming into a black hole. The oddity of a neutron star lies in its density. Thus, if we take the information from the American space agency, the equivalent in size of a sugar cube would weigh, at the very least, nearly 1 billion tons, almost a mountain. This is explained in particular because the mass of a star, larger than the Sun, is compressed into a small sphere barely larger than a large city. Its nickname of pulsar comes from the fact that at regular intervals, the neutron star emits beams of light, as if it were flashing in space or pulsating. Before being recognized as such, it had notably been confused with possible alien signals.
A pulsar dating from the Middle Ages photographed by James Webb
On June 3, 2024, the James Webb Space Telescope teams broadcast this image. 
Photo credit: Chandra / NASA / CXC / SAO / JWST This is a composite image captured and produced using the James Webb and Chandra space telescopes. It shows, at its center, the pulsar (or neutron star) that is located in the middle of the Crab Nebula. The latter is located 6,500 light-years from Earth in the Taurus constellation. The nebula is, moreover, also a remnant of a supernova that is notably composed of gas and dust. Much later, this same gas and dust could give birth to new stars. So, even if the spectacle seems magnificent, we are faced with an image that is neither more nor less than a space cemetery. The pulsar that can be seen in the centre of the image rotates on itself 30 times per second and the supernova that caused it occurred in the year 1054 and could most certainly have been observed from Earth.
Will our Sun end up as a pulsar?
When the Sun ends its life, we will no longer be of this world for a long time. Humanity will most certainly have changed planets or perhaps it will have even disappeared from the surface of the Universe. Indeed, it is estimated that our star will end its life in 5 billion years. In other words, it is not tomorrow. The Sun as we know it today will start by swelling and reaching insane proportions. Indeed, it should grow the equivalent of 250 times its current size and the history of the Earth will end there, because our planet will have been swallowed by the star which will then have become a red giant. Then, it will end up transforming into a white dwarf when it will have collapsed on its own heart. Releasing its mass in its surroundings, a nebula filled with dust and gas will see the light of day again in place of our Solar System. Then our star will continue to shine for thousands of years before fading out and becoming a black dwarf, a simple star core lost in the middle of the Universe. Thus, our Sun will not end its course, neither as a supernova, nor as a black hole nor as a neutron star according to many specialists. Then, from this nebula in which the Earth was born 4.6 billion years ago, other stars and perhaps other planets will be born which, if life develops there, will have to start all over again from scratch what humanity has done for a new cycle. Source: James Webb / LiveScience
