‘Kilanova’ event pure gold dust for excited astro-physicists

A gold mine on a cosmic scale has been found in a distant galaxy where astronomers watched the titanic collision between two super-dense neutron stars.

In a kind of alchemy, the fireball 130 million light years away created huge quantities of the precious metal, along with platinum, uranium and other heavy elements.

Scientists detected more gold than the whole of the Earth’s mass in the chemical signatures of the explosion, dubbed a “kilonova”.

Huge quantities of other precious metals, including platinum and uranium, were also forged in the nuclear furnace.

The spectacular event was powerful enough to generate ripples in the very fabric of the universe, leading to the fifth detection of gravitational waves on Earth – a major discovery in itself.

Excited astronomers talked of opening a “new chapter in astrophysics” and unlocking a “treasure trove” of new science.

Professor Sheila Rowan, one of the many British scientists involved and the director of Glasgow University’s Institute for Gravitational Research, said: “Nature has given us the most dazzling gift.

“The first gravitational wave signals from colliding neutron stars are a key that has allowed us to unlock the door to answer several long-standing mysteries.

Warwick University’s Dr Danny Steeghs said: “This is a new chapter in astrophysics.”

Professor Bob Nichol, director of the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation at Portsmouth University, said: “It doesn’t get more exciting than this for an astronomer.”

Nature has given us the most dazzling gift. PROF SHEILA ROWAN