Fresh strontium, an ingredient in fireworks, produced by neutron star merger

Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Scientists have for the first time identified a freshly forged heavy metal element inside a neutron star merger.

The element, strontium, was found in the spectra emanating from the neutron star merger GW170817. Scientists detailed the discovery in a paper published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

Gravitational wave machines first picked up the signal produced by GW170817 in 2017. Using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope, scientists traced the signal to its origin and imaged the radiation produced by a pair of merging neutron stars.

The explosion produced by the merger, kilonova AT2017gfo, was the first for which detailed spectra were captured. Within the spectral lines captured by VLT, scientists identified the signature of strontium. Researchers also found evidence that the heavy metal was produced via the r-process, or rapid neutron capture.

Read more: https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2019/10/23/Fresh-strontium-an-ingredient-in-fireworks-produced-by-neutron-star-merger/7381571853539/?ts_=19