Multi-messenger Observations of a Binary Neutron Star Merger

When neutron stars collide

29 March 2018

A collision between neutron stars – small, dense stellar objects close to the end of their life-cycles – was observed for the first time, thanks to a worldwide network of telescopes.

A global collaboration, including researchers from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, has now confirmed gravitational waves, ripples in space-time, and electromagnetic radiation were emitted following the collision of two neutron stars in the galaxy NGC 4993.

In August 2017, two gravitational-wave detectors picked up a signal from 130 million light years away. Less than two seconds later, a space telescope detected a burst of gamma rays from the same source. Within an hour, multiple telescopes had picked up a short-lived surge of ultraviolet, visible and infrared radiation that signalled an explosion called a ‘kilonova’. Over the following fortnight, observatories detected X-ray and radio wave emissions that indicated the burst was slowing down.

This series of events was the long-awaited sign of neutron stars merging, and highlights the potential for global collaborations to unveil more mysteries of the universe.

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References

1. The Astrophysical Journal Letters 848, L12 (2017) doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/aa91c9