naure.com
SpaceSurprise 5/5Difficulty 4/5Reviewed on September 18, 2026

Some neutron stars can spin six hundred times per second.

Why it is true

These ultra-dense bodies, known as pulsars, conserve the angular momentum of the original star. As they collapse to a much smaller size, their rotational speed increases drastically, emitting beams of radiation.

Source: ESA

Would you rather be asked first?

This is the reading side of the site, so the answer is in the sentence above — that is the whole point of it. Test yourself works the other way round: the question comes on its own, and the fact and the explanation only appear once you have answered.

Test yourself →10-question challenge

Related facts

More in Space

See all →