> That collapsed core is the neutron star, an object between around 1.1 and 2.3 times the mass of the Sun, packed into a tiny sphere just 20 kilometers (12 miles) across. 'Dense' doesn't begin to cover it. Matter inside these things can get weird – and so can their behavior.

Not the crux of the story, but this is really crazy to think about...

south_korea_ln

science

A dead star 27,400 light-years away appears to be having one of the most epic stellar discos we've ever seen.

In the binary system 4U 1820-30, a neutron star is spinning so fast around its center axis that it completes a breathtaking 716 rotations per second. No stars have been discovered spinning faster, and only the famous pulsar PSR J1748-2446ad has been found spinning at that speed.