Neutron Stars Create Gold and Platinum in Their Wake Wall Art Size:LARGE (36 X 24) Slightly to the lower-right

Slightly to the lower-right

with masses similar to our sun

The language that astronomers use changes as we become better acquainted with the universe

WISE mapped the entire sky by July using four infrared detectors

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Neutron Stars Create Gold and Platinum in Their Wake Wall Art Size:LARGE (36 X 24) Slightly to the lower-rightThis illustration shows the hot, dense, expanding cloud of debris stripped from neutron stars just before they collided. This cloud produces a kilonova; that is an astronomical event that occurs when two neutron stars or a neutron star and a black hole merge into each other. This cloud shows the visible and infrared light. Within this neutron rich debris, large quantities of some of the universe's heaviest elements were forged, including hundreds of