Space telescope spies neutron star in the debris of famous supernova

By SETH BORENSTEIN
AP Science Writer

Scientists have confirmed what became of a star that exploded in a stunning supernova visible to Earth more than three decades ago. It morphed into a neutron star, one of the oddest objects in the universe. Thursday’s study in the journal Science shows how NASA’s newest space telescope cut through the dust surrounding the 37-year-old cosmic explosion to find key evidence of a neutron star. Scientists had long figured the supernova would result in a black hole, where nothing escapes, or the super-dense neutron star. But there was too much debris to see, until the Webb telescope looked in infrared light.