NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection

On the Origin of Gold

Where did the gold [ http://www.goldinst…] in your jewelry originate? No one is completely sure [ http://adsabs.harva…]. The relative average abundance in our Solar System [ http://www.nineplan…] appears higher than can be made in the early universe [ http://ultraman.ssl…], in stars [ http://adsabs.harva…], and even in typical supernova explosions [ http://heasarc.gsfc…]. Some astronomers now suggest [ http://arxiv.org/ab…] that neutron-rich heavy elements [ http://periodic.lan…] such as gold [ http://periodic.lan…] might be most easily made [ http://adsabs.harva…] in rare neutron [ http://en.wikipedia…]-rich explosions such as the collision [ http://dast.nlanr.n…] of neutron stars [ http://imagine.gsfc…]. Pictured above [ http://www.ukaff.ac…] is a computer-animated frame depicting two neutron stars [ http://www.astro.um…] spiraling in toward each other, just before they collide [ http://www.ncsa.uiu…]. Since neutron star collisions [ http://woodall.ncsa…] are also suggested as the origin of short [ http://imagine.gsfc…] duration [ http://www.space.co…] gamma-ray bursts [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…], it is possible that you already own a souvenir from one of the most powerful explosions [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] in the universe.

Stephan Rosswog [ mailto:s dot rosswog at iu dash bremen dot de ] (International University Bremen [ http://www.iu-breme…]) et al., UKAFF [ http://www.ukaff.ac…]

Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)

Washington, D.C.

Dash

http://antwrp.gsfc.…

SPD-APOD-ap050515