The quark star, or XMMUJ173203.3-344518, is the densest and most compact object that scientists have found in space, and it has the mass of three-quarters of our sun and is so compact that it fits into the Manhattan area of New York, so they state in Science alert.
Until now they called it the “first strange star” Astrophysicists from Brazilian universities found this strange star in the remnants of a supernova, until today it was thought to be the product of a supermassive stellar explosion due to its gravity.
Let’s remember that when the star runs out of fuel, it collapses, leading to an amazing cosmic event of heat and electromagnetism that destroys its outer layers, ending its life.
As a result of this explosion, it leaves a body so dense that all its atoms are very compressed, and electrons accumulate in their nuclei, causing them to lose their charge to become neutrons. These are the words Science alert.
All this process ends up becoming a neutron star and from here, if there is enough mass with all the gravity, it will lead to the famous and scary black hole. However, if the mass is low, a celestial body called a white dwarf is created.
Let’s take into account the minimum mass of a neutron star, which is a little more than the solar mass, and the star that was found is only 1.17 times the mass of our sun, which they called the term neutron star. Until recently, due to its mass, size and temperature, it was concluded that it is another celestial body, because according to their knowledge, neutron stars cannot and should not be small.
Now there is a question about whether it is really a neutron star, so they decided to call it an “exotic star” made up of particles known as strange quarks. This suspicion would not exist if more attention was not paid to the calculations, using comparisons and models.
What are quarks?
An understanding of the term, in this article, is essential, so here we briefly explain that when we use this word we are referring to fundamental particles which are grouped into triples, for example; Protons and neutrons of nuclear particles have different shapes. These quarks turn into strange quarks if they are compressed.
Quark stars are formed when a massive star collapses due to gravity, and this is the intensity of collapse at which neutrons disintegrate into particles, according to RT News.
Finally, this new discovery leaves scientists with a lot of work and doubts. We are surprised, as well as wanting more information. We would consider this a major advance in astronomy.
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