strontium Archives

November 2, 2024November 2, 2024 by Evan Gough

The Aftermath of a Neutron Star Collision Resembles the Conditions in the Early Universe

This artist's illustration shows a neutron star collision leaving behind a rapidly expanding cloud of radioactive material. The conditions in the cloud are similar to the conditions in the early Universe, shortly after the Big Bang. Image Credit: NASA GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER, CI LAB

Neutron stars are extraordinarily dense objects, the densest in the Universe. They pack a lot of matter into a small space and can squeeze several solar masses into a radius of 20 km. When two neutron stars collide, they release an enormous amount of energy as a kilonova.

That energy tears atoms apart into a plasma of detached electrons and atomic nuclei, reminiscent of the early Universe after the Big Bang.

October 24, 2019October 24, 2019 by Evan Gough

Astronomers See Strontium in the Kilonova Wreckage, Proof that Neutron Star Collisions Manufacture Heavy Elements in the Universe

A team of European researchers, using data from the X-shooter instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, has found signatures of strontium formed in a neutron-star merger. This artist’s impression shows two tiny but very dense neutron stars at the point at which they merge and explode as a kilonova. In the foreground, we see a representation of freshly created strontium. Image Credit: ESO/L. Calçada/M. Kornmesser

Astronomers have spotted Strontium in the aftermath of a collision between two neutron stars. This is the first time a heavy element has ever been identified in a kilonova, the explosive aftermath of these types of collisions. The discovery plugs a hole in our understanding of how heavy elements form.