artist’s impression of a kilonova produced by two colliding neutron stars (Surprise kilonova upends established understanding of long gamma-ray bursts)

This artist’s impression shows a kilonova produced by two colliding neutron stars. While studying the aftermath of a long gamma-ray burst (GRB), two independent teams of astronomers using a host of telescopes in space and on Earth, including the Gemini North telescope on Hawai‘i and the Gemini South telescope in Chile, have uncovered the unexpected hallmarks of a kilonova, the colossal explosion triggered by colliding neutron stars.

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Credit: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da Silva/Spaceengine