How to make a kilonova: Finding a path for cosmic alchemy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25250/thescbr.brk760Keywords:
Neutron stars, binary stars, stellar evolution, supernovaeAbstract
Astronomers recently discovered a pair of stars circling each other (a binary star) that will eventually end its life in an explosion so powerful it creates gold. These explosions create large amounts of gold and other heavy metals but their formation has proven difficult to model. This discovery shows how double-stars hold the key for understanding how precious metals are made in the cosmos.
Original article reference
Richardson, N. D., Pavao, C. M., Eldridge, J. J., et al. A high-mass X-ray binary descended from an ultra-stripped supernova. Nature 614, 45–47 (2023)
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Some rights reserved 2023 Noel Richardson, Clarissa Pavao
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.