Amber Reed's Quiz

1.     What is a white dwarf?
A white dwarf is the most inert core of a dead star. The electron degeneracy pressures balances the inward pull of gravity.

2.     What can happen to a white dwarf in a close binary system
A white dwarf in a close binary system can acquire hydrogen from its companion through an accretion disk. The hydrogen builds up on the white dwarf’s surface, it  produces with nuclear fusion to make a nova.

3.     What is a neutron star?
A ball of neutrons left over form a massive star supernova and supported by neutron degeneracy pressure

4.     How were neutron stars discovered?
By beams of radiation form a rotating neutron star sweep through space like lighthouse beams, making the appear to pulse. Also observations of these pulses wee the first evidence for neutron stars.

5.     What can happen to a neutron star in a close binary system?
The accretion disk around a neutron star gets hot enough to produce X-rays,making the system an X-ray binary. The sudden fusion events periodically occur on the surface of an accreting neutron star,producing X-rays bursts.

6.     What is a black hole?
A black hole is a massive object whose radius is so small that the escape velocity exceeds the sped of the light.

7.     What would it be like to visit a black hole?
You can orbit a black hole like any other object of the same mass-black holes don't suck. Near the event horizon,time slows down and tidal forces are very strong.

8.     Do black holes really exist?
Some X-rays binaries contain compact objects too massive to be neutron stars-they are almost certainly black holes.

9.     What causes gamma ray bursts?
Gamma-ray bursts occur in distant galaxies and are the most powerful bursts of energy that are anywhere in the universe. The precise cause is unknown, yet at least some appear to come from unusually powerful supernovae.

10. What did Jocelyn Bell discover? 
Jocelyn Bell discovered the first neutron star by using a radio telescope. Jocelyn also notices a very regular pulses of radio emission coming from a single part of the sky.

Amber Reed