Mass of Progenitors

The purported neutron star of the Puppis remnant discussed in the first page of the left panel is of interest for another reason too. Analysis of the atomic composition of the supernova remnant using optical spectra, in comparison with stellar evolution models, suggests that the mass of the progenitor star that produced the supernova was 25 solar masses. If this indirect inference is correct, this is the most massive supernova progenitor known to have produced a neutron star (rather than a black hole).