21 Neutron Stars Found in Orbit

Astronomers have recently made an exciting discovery: 21 new neutron stars orbiting stars similar to our Sun. Neutron stars are the incredibly dense remnants of massive stars that exploded in supernovae. These stars contain more mass than the Sun, compressed into a sphere no larger than a city. What makes this finding especially fascinating is their location, not in distant galaxies, but in orbit around sun-like stars. This challenges existing models of binary evolution and suggests that neutron stars may be far more common and closer than previously thought.

The team, led by Kareem El-Badry of Caltech, used a combination of X-ray telescopes and optical surveys to identify these compact stellar remnants. “There are clearly gaps in our models for the evolution of binary stars,” El-Badry explained. “Finding more of these dark companions and comparing their population statistics to predictions of different models will help us piece together how they form” (El-Badry, 2025). The likely explanation is that these systems began as binaries, and after one star went supernova, the remaining neutron core stayed gravitationally bound to its stellar partner. These systems offer valuable insight into stellar evolution, black hole formation, and gravitational waves, making them key to understanding the life and afterlife of stars.

Work Cited:

Clavin, W. (2024, July 16). Astronomers discover what may be 21 neutron stars orbiting sun-like stars. Phys.org. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-astronomers-neutron-stars-orbiting-sun.html