In a study published in The Astrophysical Journal, scientists have proposed the features of rapid neutron capture process (r-process) nucleosynthesis in a novel scenario, common envelope jet ...

Some of the universe’s heaviest elements are born in chaos, in matter flung outward when neutron stars collide or massive ...

Heavy duty: artist’s impression of a kilonova releasing r-process elements into the cosmos. (Courtesy: ESO/L Calçada/M Kornmesser) The mystery of where heavy elements such as gold and silver come from ...

The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI. The characteristic luminosity of the kilonova is approximately equal to the radioactive heating rate at this escape timescale: A ...

In an ejection that would have caused its rotation to slow, a magnetar is depicted losing material into space in this artist’s concept. The magnetar’s strong, twisted magnetic field lines (shown in ...

All around us are elements forged in stars, from the nickel and copper in coins to the gold and silver in jewelry. Scientists have a good understanding of how these elements form: In many cases, a ...

A: The lightest elements in the universe — hydrogen, helium, and a little lithium — were born shortly after the Big Bang. The heavier elements, up to iron, were forged later, in the hearts of stars ...

Violent explosions of massive, magnetized stars may forge most of the universe’s heavy elements, such as silver and uranium. The ancient star’s elements aren’t from the remnants of a neutron star ...

The first stars of the universe were monstrous beasts. Comprised only of hydrogen and helium, they could be 300 times more massive than the sun. Within them, the first of the heavier elements were ...

Precious elements may come from spinning neutron stars that have swallowed a tiny black hole and imploded. If true, this dramatically changes our understanding not only of how rare elements like gold ...

Carl Sagan once famously said: “We are made of star stuff.” He was referring to the origin of many elements — like the calcium in our bones and the iron in our blood — that are forged in the last ...