Question: what type of equipment do you use?

Emma Dean answered on 16 Mar 2016:

I use computers. They are an excellent tool. I use them to create models of real life systems, like neutron stars.

The closest neutron star is about 500 light years away, so it is very unlikely that we would be able to send a probe there to do experiments. I tell the computer what a neutron star is by using maths. This creates a simplified model that I can then build on and use to do experiments. I then compare my results with observations that astronomers have made, to see if they match.