Neutron Star Merger Animation Ending with Kilonova Explosion
This artist’s impression video shows how two tiny but very dense neutron stars merge and explode as a kilonova. Such a very rare event is expected to produce both gravitational waves and a short gamma-ray burst, both of which were observed on August 17, 2017, by LIGO–Virgo and Fermi/INTEGRAL respectively. Subsequent detailed observations with the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope and other telescopes all over the world have confirmed that this object, seen in the galaxy NGC 4993 about 130 million light-years from the Earth, is indeed a kilonova. These objects are the main source of very heavy chemical elements, such as gold and platinum, in the Universe.
Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/L. Calçada
Duration: 48 seconds
Release Date: Oct. 16, 2017
#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Kilonova #GravitationalWaves #GammaRayBurst #Stars #NeutronStars #Hydra #Constellation #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Art #Illustration #Animation #HD #Video
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