When the core of a massive star collapses, a supernova explosion occurs and the collapsed core forms an extremely compact, rapidly spinning neutron star. Some theories propose that the neutrons could dissolve into free quarks, causing the neutron star to shrink further and become a strange quark star. NASA has announced the detection of a possible strange quark star.
Click here to visit the Chandra X-ray Observatory web site and watch an animation of a star collapse.
![Albireo (Beta [β] Cygni) is a classic example of a double star with contrasting colors.](https://www.astronomy.com/uploads/2024/08/Albireo.jpg)
