Neutron star collision

A black hole swallows its companion star. Illustration: shutterstock

Two gravitational wave events within 10 days: black holes have been discovered that eat neutron stars - "like Pac-Man"

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) in the US and the Virago Gravitational Wave Observatory in Italy captured the gravitational waves from the death spiral and merger of a neutron star with a black hole, and not once but
An artist's illustration of a kilonova caused by a neutron star merger. Image: CREDIT: NAOJ

The origin of the heavy elements - in the fusion of neutron stars

Radio observations shed light on a neutron star collision event

Imaging a kilonova: the merger and collision of two tiny but highly compressed neutron stars. Source: ESO/L. Calçada/M. Kornmesser.

Observed for the first time: collision and merger of two neutron stars

This artist's illustration, prepared for the Harvard Smithsonian Center, depicts two neutron stars at the moment of collision. New findings confirm that collisions of neutron stars cause short bursts of gamma rays in which the rare metals including gold are produced. All the gold on Earth is believed to have come from such neutron star collisions. illustration

The gold on Earth was created in neutron star collisions