Image Credit: Babak Tafreshi; Inset: Dana Berry, SkyWorks Digital, Inc.
That Gold on Your Finger May Be Dust from a Neutron Star
Telescopes pinpoint optical glow of a binary neutron star merger detected in gravitational waves
The precious elements in our Earth-bound bling are thought to have been forged in ancient fiery cataclysms, when pairs of neutron stars spiraled together and merged into black holes. Telescopes at CTIO recently pinpointed and studied the light from such a merger. The first optical counterpart to a gravitational wave detection, the discovery confirms that merging neutron star binaries are indeed major cosmic production sites of rare heavy elements.
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Read more in the NOAO Press Release: Cosmic Forge of Rare Heavy Elements Discovered.
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NOAO invites community input on science opportunities of the coming decade in preparation for the Decadal Survey. To learn more and to contribute, visit our 2020 Decadal Survey planning page. -
A stunning collection of images showcased in the 8th International Earth & Sky Photo Contest highlights the beauty of the night sky and the battle with light pollution. -
The October 2017 NOAO Newsletter is ready to download. It contains sections on Science Highlights, Community Science & Data, System Observing, and NOAO Operations & Staff. -
Join the international star-hunt campaign, Globe at Night, October 11-20. Use a smart phone to submit sky brightness in real time! Visit globeatnight.org.
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Supernova Survivor Flung Far from Home: Forensic spectra taken with the KPNO Mayall telescope helps astronomers reconstruct a star’s perilous past. -
In 2013 a house-sized meteor exploded over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk. How many similar-sized rocks have orbits that bring them close to the Earth? Read more in NOAO Press Release 17-04. -
70-26-4: The Cosmic Mix Confirmed. The results from the Dark Energy Survey, carried out with DECam on the CTIO Blanco telescope, were derived from high precision maps of gravitational lensing and large scale structure.
