NASA solved the mystery of the origin of gold: Know how the Universe’s Gold was formed by the Magnetar explosion
For centuries, it has been a mystery for scientists how gold and other heavy metals such as uranium and mercury were formed in the universe. Now with the help of old data from NASA and ESA, scientists have solved this mystery.
According to a new study, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, “Magnetars” – ie neutron stars with extremely powerful magnetic fields – may be responsible for the origin and spread of heavy metals in the universe. This research was led by Columbia University PhD student Anirudh Patel.
What are Magnetars?
Magnetars are actually neutron stars, but their magnetic field is thousands of times more than that of ordinary neutron stars. Their gravity is so intense that a teaspoon of neutron star material can weigh billions of tons on Earth.
Sometimes magnetars have “starquakes” or earthquake-like events, which emit tremendous energy and gamma-rays. These are called magnetar giant flares, and when they explode, they can even affect the Earth’s atmosphere.
The mystery of the origin of gold is solved
Until now scientists believed that heavy metals like gold and uranium are formed by the collision of neutron stars. One such event was also seen in 2017. But according to scientists, these events occur much later in the universe, whereas the initial gold had already come into existence before this.
That’s when scientists’ attention turned to magnetar flares. The team of Brian Metzger, Todd Thompson and Yakub Sehula of Columbia University put forward the idea that perhaps magnetar flares are the missing link that would have formed heavy metals in the early universe.
20-year-old data became a game changer
To test this theory, Eric Burns and Anirudh Patel of LSU examined 20 years of data from ESA and NASA. They particularly focused on the 2004 magnetar flare event, which was recorded by ESA’s INTEGRAL satellite.
In the same data, they found a mysterious gamma-ray signal, which matched the team’s predictions. Patel said that after that discovery, he could not think of anything else for a week.
Eric Burns said, “This is like answering a century-old question, and that too with the help of old information that was almost forgotten.”
A new way to discover cosmic elements
This discovery means that magnetars may have created not only gold but about 10% of the heavy metals in the universe. That is, a little bit of every electronic device may have come from such an explosion – whether it is your phone or laptop.
Patel says, “It is surprising to think that some parts of my phone may have been formed in a cosmic explosion.”
Will more evidence be found in the future?
NASA will now launch a new mission in 2027 to further strengthen this theory – COSI (Compton Spectrometer and Imager). This will be a wide-field gamma-ray telescope that will study special magnetar flares and other cosmic explosions.
With the help of COSI, scientists will also be able to know which special elements are formed during these explosions.
The mystery of the origin of precious metals like gold has finally been solved. Magnetars – these mysterious, magnetic neutron stars – may be the originators of the rarest and heaviest metals in the universe. Combining old data from NASA and ESA and modern theories, this discovery not only solves a century-old puzzle, but also opens the way for future discoveries.
Now that NASA’s COSI mission is on its way, we may witness even more exciting discoveries in the years to come.
Can you imagine – the gold you own or the gold used in your phone was once made from an exploding star?