Two neutron stars begin to merge in this illustration, blasting a jet of high-speed particles and producing a cloud of debris. Scientists think these kinds of events are factories for a significant portion of the universe’s heavy elements, including gold.
Read the full Northwestern News story:
![Illustration: two neutron stars begin to merge (Surprise kilonova upends established understanding of long gamma-ray bursts)](https://ciera.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GRB211211Apt-1-819x1024.jpg)
Credit: A. Simonnet (Sonoma State University) and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center