Impossible Objects III
Today, we are going to continue learning about impossible objects.
PSR J0952–0607: The Impossibly Heavy Object
If you have seen my previous blog, “Impossible Objects II.” You would have learned about black widow pulsars. This star has exceeded the maximum mass for a pulsar and is expected to collapse into a black hole. But here is the catch. It hasn’t.
PSR J0952–0607 has a mass of 2.3 solar masses, but an average pulsar can’t reach 2.3 solar masses without collapsing into a black hole. But what if it is not a pulsar? This could solve everything. It would either mean two things: it is a quark star, or it is made out of Neutron-degenerate matter. This could challenge the ideas of what we know about neutron stars. Could it possibly be that it is one of these options?
ASASSN-15lh: The Brightest Supernova Ever Recorded
What could have caused this? This supernova was as bright as 400 billion suns, which is twice the last brightest supernova. But the immense power of this supernova gives hints that this is not a normal supernova.
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It could be a tidal disruption event, which is when a star is violently ripped apart by a black hole. This type of supernovas are known for theoretically being able to produce mass supernovae of this brightness and type. Because of the kerk black holes anything is possible.
Another reason why it could have caused this is that it may have had a transition between a neutron star and a quark star. Quark stars are incredible objects made out of purely up, down, and strange quarks. This is called strange matter for one huge reason. Quarks aren’t supposed to be separate. But the evidence backing up the idea that this supernova was a transition between a neutron star and a quark star is insane.
Fact of the week: Beetleguese is a double star system with Beetleguese itself, with another star called Siwarha.
Thank you for reading,
Stay curious
