Kilonova! Gravitational Waves AND Radiation Detected From a Neutron Star Collision
Astronomers have made the groundbreaking detection of two neutron stars colliding in a galaxy 130 million light years away. They detected the gravitational waves AND the blast of radiation released from the collision, observing a kilonova for the first time.
Kilonova! Gravitational Waves AND Radiation Detected From a Neutron Star Collision (YouTube)
Comments (12)
Fraser, you state that about 1 Earth worth of exotic heavy metals were created. I watched a vid where they claimed hundreds of Earth masses worth of gold alone, plus everything else. I realize these are all guesstimates, but who is probably closer to the truth???
Yeah, I'm seeing different amounts. I've seen 16,000 Earth masses. I'll dig into it.
Hi Fraser! First: what you do is awesome. I've just started to download the episodes from your astronomy podcast with Pamela Gay in 2006 and i LOVE them. Ok here's the question: when scientists at NASA modify the photos (cassini's photos, or Juno's photos for example) do they use different wavelengths (and sum them) to catch all the details in the landscape? I'm asking this because I always read statements like "photo created using X-ray" or "Infrared".
It's kind of complicated. Did you ever see this video? <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9NMXy1FKPA&index=197&list=PLbJ42wpShvml6Eg22WjWAR-6QUufHFh2v" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9NMXy1FKPA&index=197&list=PLbJ42wpShvml6Eg22WjWAR-6QUufHFh2v</a>
Hey Fraser, little followup question: I've heard the kilonova did not only produce gold and platinum but also uranium and plutonium. Given that plutonium was previously considered a purely man-made element, were there any other transuranium elements observed in the kilonova, maybe ones we haven't even yet produced on earth? Or did new elements only form in the few nanoseconds-or-so of the merger and we were therefore too late to see those new elements, even if they were formed?
Plutonium is an element, but it has a relatively short half life, so we don't see it out there. In theory, there would be all kinds of exotic elements produced in the kilonova way beyond anything we have on the periodic table of elements, but we also know they'd decay almost instantly because we don't see them.
Fraser, why do the gravitational waves last so much longer for smaller merging neutron stars than the larger black holes? Logic would seem to dictate that larger means longer. What gives?
It just comes down to mass, but these neutron stars were incredibly close, so they were able to detect them. 130 million light years away, instead of billions. It was an incredibly lucky detection.
"In a fraction of a second, an amount of gold equal to the mass of the Moon was created." I'm heading out there to get my share before greedy aliens beat me to it. Who's with me?
Should be a profitable adventure.
Hey! I can't help but wonder at what distance it is safe/unsafe to be in that galax when the kilonova happen?
Those beams can kill you halfway across the Milky Way, but only if it's directed right at you.