The next gold rush: Outer space?
Thursday, July 18, 2013 - 11:30
in Astronomy & Space
We value gold for many reasons: its beauty, its usefulness, and its rarity. Gold is rare on Earth in part because it’s also rare in the universe. Unlike elements such as carbon or iron, it cannot be created within a star. Instead, it must be born in a more cataclysmic event —a short gamma-ray burst (GRB), like one that occurred last month. Observations of this GRB provided evidence that it resulted from the collision of two neutron stars — the dead cores of stars that previously exploded as supernovae. The unique glow that persisted for days at the site of the GRB could signify the creation of substantial amounts of heavy elements — including gold. This animation shows the collision...