The new telescope allows astronomers for the first time detect neutron star collisions. These bodies “dead suns” which collapse under their weight, crushing the atoms that once made them glow, and the light produced by their impact is only visible for a few nights.

Some astronomers observed one such collision in 2017, but it was largely coincidental. When these dead suns collapse, their strong gravity causes them to pull together and sooner or later collide and merge. The result is a flash of light and a powerful gravitational wave that propagates through the universe.

O Transient Gravitational Wave Optical Observer or GOTO, named after the telescope, was built by the British and will henceforth systematically track these collisions. They are extremely important for the human understanding of the Universe, as scientists believe that heavy metals are created from them, from which stars and planets, including the Earth, were formed. To give you an idea, a small teaspoon of the material produced by these neutron stars could weigh four billion tons.

When a gravitational wave generated by the collision is detected on Earth, the telescope kicks into action to pinpoint the exact location of the flare. In practice, this allows you to see the “internal content” of these celestial bodies when they collide. The task of its operators, in turn, is to ensure that this process is carried out within hours or even minutes – which is a big problem.

“You would think that these explosions are very powerful, very bright, it should be easy. But we have to look for a hundred million stars in search of the only object of interest to us. And we have to do it very quickly, because the object will disappear in two days.” — Joe Lyman, professor of astrophysics.

“You would think that these explosions are very powerful, very bright, it should be easy. But we have to look for a hundred million stars in search of the only object of interest to us. And we have to do it very quickly, because the object will disappear in two days.” — Joe Lyman, professor of astrophysics.

Currently, the Transient Gravitational Wave Optical Observer is above the clouds on the volcanic island of La Palma in Spain.

Source: Epoka, BBC.

…..

Are you thinking about buying a product online? Discover the Save the Connected World extension for Google Chrome. It’s free and offers you price comparisons at major stores and coupons so you can always buy at the best price. Download now.