---
title: "Stare Into the Brutal Maw of This Barbarous Neutron Star"
description: "For the first time, NASA built a complete map of the surface of a neutron star, giving astronomers a new resource as they try to understand the cosmos."
date: "2019-12-13"
modified: "2019-12-13"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/stare-brutal-maw-barbarous-neutron-star"
categories:
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "NASA"
  - "neutron star"
  - "space"
  - "the digest"
---

# Stare Into the Brutal Maw of This Barbarous Neutron Star

![For the first time, NASA built a complete map of the surface of a neutron star, giving astronomers a new resource as they try to understand the cosmos.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/brutal-maw-barbarous-neutron-star.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Casey Reed/Penn State University\</em\>*

## Imaging Pisces

For the first time, NASA managed to map the entire surface of [a neutron star](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/astronomers-biggest-neutron-star>) (read: the cosmic carcass of a massive star after it detonates in a massive supernova explosion).

The neutron star, J0030+0451 is found within the Pisces constellation. It's only 16 miles wide, [according to *Astronomy*](<http://www.astronomy.com/news/2019/12/astronomers-map-a-neutron-stars-surface-for-the-first-time>), but still has at least 1.3 times the mass of our Sun. By using NASA's x-ray-measuring satellite NICER, scientists managed to construct a map of unprecedented detail, helping them build out their (and our) [understanding of the universe](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/radio-jets-neutron-star>) like never before.

## Long Month

The discovery, described in a new [series of papers](<https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/2041-8205/page/Focus_on_NICER_Constraints_on_the_Dense_Matter_Equation_of_State>) published in *The Astrophysical Journal*, took about a month to assemble with NASA's supercomputers. Compiling the various recordings and measurements from this project into a coherent map was such a complex task that it would've taken about a decade to do on a standard computer, according to *Astronomy*.

It's unclear what exactly what scientists want to use the new map for. NASA announced plans to recreate the map with more neutron stars, *Astronomy* reports, but in the meantime, it's worth taking a minute and just appreciating how cool this astronomical accomplishment is.

**READ MORE:** [Astronomers map a neutron star’s surface for the first time](<http://www.astronomy.com/news/2019/12/astronomers-map-a-neutron-stars-surface-for-the-first-time>) \[*Astronomy*\]

**More on neutron stars:** *[Scientists Have Learned Why Neutron Stars Shine So Bright](<https://futurism.com/neutron-stars-shine-bright>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)