We found a new type of stellar explosion that could explain a 13-billion-year-old mystery of the Milky Way's elements
- Written by David Yong, Academic, Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University
NASA/WikiCommonsUntil recently it was thought neutron star mergers were the only way heavy elements (heavier than Zinc) could be produced. These mergers involve the mashup of the remnants of two massive stars in a binary system.
But we know heavy elements were first produced not long after the Big Bang, when the universe was really young. Back...

















