The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Hubble Space Telescope jointly observed a super-long gamma-ray burst (GRB) originating from the collision of two dense neutron stars millions of years ago.
Neutron stars are the rare result of supernovae or explosions of dying stars that do not turn into black holes. In this case, scientists from the University of Rome wanted to detect a neutron star at the heart of a known supernova, which they believed existed but had not seen until now.
Thanks to the performance of both mentioned telescopes, the team was finally able to record the strong glow (so-called kilo) of heavy elements such as silver and even gold, which were created during this turbulent collision.
“It was exciting to use the powerful eyes of Hubble and JWST to study a kilonova like we had never seen before, she stated astrophysicist Eleonora Troja. “This is the first time we’ve been able to verify that metals heavier than iron and silver actually formed right in front of us.”
GRBs are generally associated with the death of one star rather than the merger of two—but in case GRB 230307Awhich was discovered in 2023 as part of the Italian Fermi mission, is different.
“Fusing neutron stars could create an ideal environment for large-scale synthesis of heavy elements,” he noted lead researcher Yu-Han Yang. “Study of neutron star fusion helps us rewrite obscure chapters of nucleosynthesis.”
Cover photo is illustrative only.
2024-02-28 18:52:31
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