Scientists witness massive collision of two neutron stars, find origins of gold
Observation helps solve many physics riddles
Paris: Scientists have for the first time witnessed the crash of two ultradense neutron stars, cataclysmic events now known to have generated at least half the gold in the Universe, excited research teams revealed on Monday.
Shockwaves and light flashes emitted by the cosmic fireball travelled some 130 million light-years to be captured by Earthly detectors on August 17, they revealed at simultaneous press conferences around the globe.
“We witnessed history unfolding in front of our eyes: two neutron stars drawing closer, closer... turning faster and faster around each other, then colliding and scattering debris all over the place,” co-discoverer Benoit Mours of France’s CNRS research institute said.
The groundbreaking observation solved a number of physics riddles and sent ripples of anticipation through the scientific community.
Most jaw-dropping for many, the data finally revealed where much of the gold, platinum, mercury and other heavy elements in the Universe came from. Telescopes saw evidence of newly-forged material in the fallout, the teams said — a source long suspected, now confirmed. “It makes it quite clear that a significant fraction, maybe half, maybe more, of the heavy elements in the Universe are actually produced by this kind of collision,” said physicist Patrick Sutton, a member of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory which contributed to the find.
Neutron stars are the condensed, burnt-out cores that remain when massive stars run out of fuel, blow up, and die.
Shockwaves and light flashes emitted by the cosmic fireball travelled some 130 million light-years to be captured by Earthly detectors on August 17
Most jaw-dropping for many, the data finally revealed where much of the gold, platinum, mercury and other heavy elements in the Universe came from