OUR FIRST DETECTION OF A NEUTRON STAR COLLISION
130 MILLION
The distance in light-years to NGC 4993, the elliptical galaxy in the southern hemisphere where two neutrons stars collided.
100
The duration in seconds of the chirping sound made by the gravitational shockwave.
1.7
The elapsed time in seconds between the gravitational wave and a burst of gamma rays dectected by the Fermi orbiting spacecraft.
3500
The number of authors of a paper submitted to journal Astrophysical Journal Letters – about a third of the world’s professional astronomers!
40- 100
The number of Earth masses equal to the mass of gold dust created in the collision.