Exclusive: Gamma-ray burst from colliding stars unexpectedly gave way to day-long sight of hypermassive body
An “overweight” neutron star has been observed by astronomers, who say the mysterious object confounds astronomical theories.
The hypermassive star was produced by the merger of two smaller neutron stars. Normally such collisions result in neutron stars so massive that they collapse into a black hole almost instantaneously under their own gravity. But the latest observations revealed the monster star hovering in view for more than a day before it faded out of sight.
Continue reading…Exclusive: Gamma-ray burst from colliding stars unexpectedly gave way to day-long sight of hypermassive bodyAn “overweight” neutron star has been observed by astronomers, who say the mysterious object confounds astronomical theories.The hypermassive star was produced by the merger of two smaller neutron stars. Normally such collisions result in neutron stars so massive that they collapse into a black hole almost instantaneously under their own gravity. But the latest observations revealed the monster star hovering in view for more than a day before it faded out of sight. Continue reading…