Minn. Researchers Help In Discovery Of Neutron Stars' Collision
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minnesota researchers are part of the team of astrophysics involved in a major discovery. For the first time ever, scientists observed the collision of two neutron stars.
In the video above, you can see a NASA animation of what happened. You'll see two neutrons enter a death spiral and collide. Telescopes on Earth observed this happening back in August.
Neutron stars are very small and dense. They have masses bigger than our Sun, compressed into a body with a diameter roughly the size of a city like Chicago.
The collision released more energy than has been released during our sun's entire lifetime.
It also caused gravitational waves, a burst of light, and scattered heavy elements like gold and platinum across the universe.
U of M researchers say this is a big deal and will open up a whole new area of astrophysics to help us better understand our universe.