How neutron stars can break up clusters
Thursday, July 9, 2015 - 07:00
in Astronomy & Space
A supernova explosion at the end of a large star's life can leave the collapsed core, or neutron star, hurtling away from its dust and gas envelope at hundreds of kilometres per second. Now, astronomers have found that even a tiny number of these neutron star 'natal kicks' can have a dramatic effect on the lifetime of surrounding star clusters. The fast-moving neutron stars can cause star clusters to lose mass and break apart up to four times more quickly. The discovery will be presented by Filippo Contenta at the National Astronomy Meeting in Llandudno.