Definition of "neutron star" []

• A celestial body consisting of the superdense remains of a massive star that has collapsed with sufficient force to push all of its electrons into the nuclei that they orbit, thus leaving only neutrons, and having a powerful gravitational attraction from which only neutrinos and high-energy photons can escape, rendering the body detectable only by x-ray. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.