Neutron Star Merger Animation Ending with Kilonova Explosion

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

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