Scientists uncover how rare elements are made in space

Have you ever wondered where the gold in your jewelry or the uranium in our power plants comes from?

While regular stars fuse light elements, they stop at iron.

Creating heavier elements, a process called nucleosynthesis, requires much more energy.

Scientists act as cosmic archaeologists, studying the chemistry of ancient stars to understand this mystery.

When two dense stars collide, they create a kilonova, scattering heavy elements across the galaxy.

More recently, researchers have discovered that some extremely heavy elements may even split through fission, helping to balance the abundance patterns we see today.

Every atom of gold or platinum you possess is a relic of an ancient, explosive star death that occurred billions of years ago.