[LibWhacker]

What? We've been told for decades that all the heavier elements beyond iron are made in supernova explosions. Turns out that's not true. The r-process elements cannot even be made in supernovae; it takes neutron star mergers to make those. Just... Wow. (But I do wish science articles wouldn't end in "freaking awesome!")

[Pearls Before Swine]

“I claim this star system in the name of Dorkbama.” /S

[mountn man]

[LibWhacker]

Oh, wait! When neutron stars merge, the result IS a supernova, except in this case there are lots and lots of neutrons floating around to make r-process elements! Got it. I think.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

Finally an answer to Fermi's Paradox.

Space Aliens aren't invading ... or even bothering to visit ... us because they're all fighting over the pretty, shiny things in this poor little dwarf galaxy.

[Vermont Lt]

98,000 light years? If this stuff is so valuable, it hasn’t been there for a real long time.

[DennisR]

“So far, no one’s been able to explain how they came to exist in the Universe.”

Uh..never read the biblical account in Genesis?

[zeestephen]

Question to anyone with a chemistry background.

Since the Earth’s original gold sank into the core and melted under huge pressure, does it still retain its character as gold?

Or, does it completely break down and just mix with other melted elements and gases and transform into something new?

In other words, if we drilled into the core, and blobs of molten stuff shot out and dried on the surface of the Earth, would it be gold ore of varying grades, or would it just be a jumble of new minerals?

[Redleg Duke]

Hanging from some cat’s collar?

[thoughtomator]

The moment you read “neutron star” you know the article has entered the realm of rainbows and unicorns.

[WMarshal]

I think the universe is far older than we give it credit for.

[Delta 21]

How do we even know that its rare?

Oh, thats right. We know everything there is to know about the universe.

[Redwood71]

This will most definately open up a can of worms. I can just see Little People of American filing suit for the use of the word dwarf. If the Indians don’t want the Washington Redskins, (and polls say they really don’t care), then just get ready for this suit.

red

[P.O.E.]

[Some Fat Guy in L.A.]

So the streets there are paved with gold?

[Ozark Tom]

Unless the star explodes distributing the materials, how is it that the materials are made available???

[Moonman62]

“Because just one of these neutron star mergers produced so much gold, probably all of the gold atoms that are in the four of us in this roundtable discussion came from the same event,” said Ramirez-Ruiz. “So we’re not only linked by genetics, but by these exotic phenomena that happen in the Universe.”

...

And now we’ve created gravity wave detectors that will be able to see these neutron star mergers.