Astronomers have discovered an extremely rare star system that could one day give rise to a very powerful explosion that would flood space with gold.
And this system is so rare (one in 10 billion) that only 10 of its kind are thought to exist in our entire galaxy.
The unusual star cluster – known as CPD-29 2176 – is located about 11,400 light-years from Earth.
It was first identified by NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, which was launched into space in 2004.
Experts in America say that the stellar system has all the appropriate conditions to finally launch the rare “kilonova” phenomenon due to the merger of two neutron stars.
These explosions produce a bright flash of radioactive light that releases large amounts of important elements such as: silver, gold, platinum, and uranium.
The “kilonova” phenomenon is known as a cosmic event resulting from the collision of two neutron stars that reverberates outside the galaxy and causes tremendous brightness.
Follow-up observations using the SMARTS telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inte-American Observatory in Chile allowed astronomers to confirm that the system will one day form a kilonova.
Huge explosions of neutron stars colliding with each other form in the universe, sending intense bursts of high-energy particles through space.
These explosions produce a bright flash of radioactive light that releases large quantities of important elements, such as: silver, gold, platinum, and uranium.
The researchers hope that their discovery will help unlock the mystery of how the “kilonova” formed, which in turn will shed light on the source of the heaviest elements in the universe.