CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -In case you missed the news in January: the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) has detected its second merger of two neutron stars - probably.

Detailed explanation-2: -After that, gravitational-wave detectors such as LIGO and Virgo have discovered tens of binary black holes and two binary neutron stars.

Detailed explanation-3: -A Kilonova Occurs When Two Neutron Stars Collide When two extremely dense dead star cores collide, the result is a kilonova. This is a bright afterglow of the collision that’s made of decaying heavy elements. For a long time, scientists thought precious metals and heavy elements were ejected out of supernovae.

Detailed explanation-4: -The newfound black hole, formed by the merger, has a mass about 49 times that of our sun. This fills in a gap between the masses of the two merged black holes detected previously by LIGO, with solar masses of 62 (first detection) and 21 (second detection).

Detailed explanation-5: -The neutron star and its closely orbiting binary companion - a star that the researchers also predict will someday collapse to become a neutron star - mark the first clear example of a star system that will ultimately trigger a kilonova, a cosmic explosion during which two neutron stars merge.