How Does a ‘Neutron Star’ Form and What Makes It So Dense?

A neutron star is like the leftover part of a big, dead star. When a star runs out of fuel and explodes, boom!, it collapses in on itself so tightly that protons and electrons squish together to make neutrons. That’s why it's called a neutron star! It becomes super dense because there’s so much stuff packed into such a small space. Imagine putting the entire Earth inside a marble, that’s how dense a neutron star is!

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  1. A neutron star is so dense that if you took a teaspoon of it to Earth, it would weigh as much as all the cars in a big city.
  2. Imagine the Earth being squished into a marble, that’s how small and heavy a neutron star can be.
  3. A neutron star forms when a huge star explodes and collapses down like a compressed sponge.

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