The occasional merger of neutron stars literally shakes the universe by sending out gravitational waves (illustrated above), but these events may also be the main source of gold and other heavy elements in the Milky Way, a new study suggests. (sciencemag.org)
In the wake of the collision, the churning residue forged gold, silver, platinum and a smattering of other heavy elements such as uranium, researchers reported October 16 at a news conference in Washington, D.C.. (sciencenews.org)
Later, when the first generation of stars were born, they emitted strong radiation that ionized hydrogen once again, and led to the synthesis of other heavier elements such as carbon and oxygen. (ibtimes.com)