How gold and heavy elements are created in space

Have you ever wondered about the origin of the gold in your jewelry?

While stars are famous for creating light and heat, they face a limit: they can only fuse elements up to iron.

To create heavier, precious metals like gold or platinum, the universe needs a different recipe.

This process relies on neutron capture, where atoms soak up extra neutrons to grow into heavier elements.

The s-process, or slow neutron capture, occurs gently in aging stars.

However, for the heaviest elements, the universe turns to the r-process, or rapid neutron capture.

This requires extreme, violent environments like colliding neutron stars.

Once thought to be produced solely by supernovae, scientists now recognize that neutron star mergers are major cosmic factories.

The gold we find on Earth today is literal stardust, likely delivered to our planet by asteroids long after its formation.

Every piece of gold is a testament to the most rare and energetic events in the galaxy.