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Home / Series / PBS Space Time / Aired Order / Season 2019 / Episode 17

The Alchemy of Neutron Star Collisions

Carl Sagan’s famous words: “We are star stuff” refers to a mind-blowing idea – that most atomic nuclei in our bodies were created in the nuclear furnace and the explosive deaths of stars that lived in the ancient universe. In recent years it’s become clear that the truth is even more mind-blowing. Many heavy elements - includes most precious metals - were produced in an even more spectacular event: the collision of neutron stars. In fact, according to a recent study most of the Earth’s supply of these elements was created in a single neutron star merger that took place near our Sun’s birth nebula 80 million years ago before Earth formed.

English
  • Originally Aired June 6, 2019
  • Runtime 15 minutes
  • Network PBS
  • Created June 6, 2019 by
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  • Modified June 6, 2019 by
    Administrator admin