A Mystery of Space: S T A R S- [Neutron Stars]

Neutron Stars are the cosmic leftovers of supernovas. These stars are extremely small (about 10 miles across), but are very dense. They have an iron shell only a few hundred feet thick, which holds in the core of mainly neutrons. To give you an idea how dense the inside of these stars are, one teaspoon of the neutrons would weigh a billion tons!
Neutron stars are formed when the tremendous heat and pressure of a supernova's iron core forces the oppositely charged electrons and protons into each other with so much power that they fuse to become neutrons. Since there is so much matter packed into a immensely tight space, neutron stars have a magnetic field so powerful, it is a trillion times as powerful as that of an ordinary star. The powerful magnetic field coupled with the neutron star's extremely rapid spinning motion, produces a pulsing electromagnetic signal in many types such as radio waves, x-rays, and gamma rays. Scientists have been able to detect over 400 neutron stars because of their unique energy output. Below is a picture and description of a typical neutron star.

this image shows the "lighthouse effect" created by the strong magnetic field and fast rotation. Two energy beams project from either side of the neutron star, and if you can imagine the star spinning, you can see how the beams look like they are pulsing