An exotic star is a compact star composed of something other than electrons, protons, and neutrons; and balanced against gravitational collapse by degeneracy pressure or other quantum properties. These include quark and strange stars (composed of quark or strange matter) and the more speculative preon stars (composed of preons).
Exotic stars are largely theoretical, but observations released by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory on April 10, 2002 detected two candidate quark stars, designated RX J1856.5-3754 and 3C58, which had previously been thought to be neutron stars. Based on the known laws of physics, the former appeared much smaller and the latter much colder than they should, suggesting that they are composed of material denser than neutronium. However, these observations are met with skepticism by researchers who say the results were not conclusive.
Read more about Exotic Star: Quark Stars and Strange Stars, Electroweak Stars, Preon Stars, Boson Stars
Famous quotes containing the words exotic and/or star:
“I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
“...indeed, star differs from star in glory.”
—Bible: New Testament, 1 Corinthians 15:41.