Posted 2/24/2024, 11:30:24 AM
Telescopes Catch Rare Glimpse of Cosmic Gold Mine
- James Webb and Hubble telescopes observed aftermath of neutron stars collision that created pure gold
- Neutron stars are dense remnants of supernovas; their collisions produce massive explosions called kilonovas
- Kilonovas forge the heaviest elements like gold, platinum, uranium
- This long gamma ray burst came from rare neutron star binary pair collision
- Studying these cosmic collisions helps explain nucleosynthesis - formation of new atomic nuclei after Big Bang