GW170817 neutron star merger and kilonova
Fusión de estrellas de neutrones GW170817 y kilonova
- Date
- 2017 · confidence high
- Place
- Las Campanas Observatory, Chile
- Credited to
- LIGO-Virgo Collaboration and the Swope team (Ryan Foley, Charles Kilpatrick)
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
First gravitational-wave source also seen in light: the kilonova in NGC 4993 demonstrated that neutron star mergers produce gold, platinum and other heavy elements, and gave an independent measurement of the Hubble constant.
Seventy observatories took part; the optical counterpart was found with the 1-m Swope telescope.
What it led to
- Multi-messenger astronomy
- Origin of r-process elements
- Confirmation that gravity travels at the speed of light