SPACE — In astronomy, scientists have 3 standard terms for star explosions, namely nova, kilonova and supernova. Kilonova occurs when two neutron stars or a neutron star and a black hole collide and merge.
When the event occurred, both objects also ejected several percent of their mass. This material is very special because it is very rich in neutrons and immediately begins to form very heavy elements.
A kilonova is an astrophysical phenomenon observed in the explosion of very fast, radioactive matter, which emits most of its radiation as optical light.
Why are kilonovas so interesting? The ejected material that formed the kilonova is the origin of half of the elements in the periodic table that are heavier than iron.
Kilonova produces very interesting elements, such as neodymium in our cell phones, molybdenum used by plants as the main component in enzymes that allow fixing nitrogen from the air, or iodine in our bodies.
By observing kilonovae, scientists can detect the sites of origin of elements and measure how the elements formed. The following are interesting facts about kilonovas:
1. Scientists detect kilonovae by observing the triggering of a gravitational wave detector. Gravitational waves tell scientists that a neutron star collision has occurred. Observing kilonovae is challenging, because they are faint and fade quickly.
2. So far, scientists have only one worthwhile event that is well monitored. Kilonova is observed with large telescopes and monitored spectroscopically so scientists can try to determine its composition, geometry and speed.
3. Kilonova can tell scientists in detail about the main physical processes that create chemical elements. Kilonova may also be able to tell us about the interactions of elementary particles, such as neutrinos, in dense environments, and how matter behaves under super-extreme densities.
4. Scientists don’t know how often neutron star collisions occur and how much of each element results from those events. The biggest mystery about kilonovas is how elements form in the process of merging.
5. The Kilonova scar features a large oval ball of pink and purple gas and dust streams with two blue crescent shapes at either end of the oval, with a background of stars.
6. Kilonova was first proposed in a paper published in 1998. Kilonova was initially referred to as a mini-supernova or “micronova,” because the flash of radiation from a neutron star merger was predicted to have a brightness between 1% and 10% of that of a typical supernova.
7. The term “kilonova” was coined by Brian Metzger, now a physics professor at Columbia University, in a paper published in 2010. Metzger and his colleagues showed that although a kilonova is less powerful than a supernova, it is still 1,000 times more powerful than a nova standard.
8. A standard nova occurs when a faint dead star called a white star in a binary system attracts material from its companion star, usually a red giant.
2024-03-11 00:10:00
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