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+--- Thread: Making gold with black holes + 1st signs of water on TRAPPIST-1s planets (/thread-4122.html)
Making gold with black holes + 1st signs of water on TRAPPIST-1s planets - C C - Sep 1, 2017
Making Gold With Black Holes
https://www.insidescience.org/news/making-gold-black-holes
EXCERPT: The way in which the universe's heaviest elements were forged has long been a mystery. Now some researchers suspect they might have found an answer -- these elements may be born when miniature black holes devour neutron stars from the inside. Such a scenario could also help solve a host of other cosmic puzzles, such as the origin of enigmatic gamma rays and radio bursts. [...] "it is a longstanding puzzle where the heavy elements such as gold, platinum and uranium are made," said study co-author Alexander Kusenko, a theoretical physicist at the University of California, Los Angeles. "All we know is that the process involves many neutrons."
Hubble Spots First Indications of Water on TRAPPIST-1s Planets
https://www.universetoday.com/137020/hubble-spots-first-indications-water-trappist-1s-planets/
EXCERPT: [...] Since hydrogen is lighter than oxygen, it is more easily lost to space where its spectra can be observed. This is precisely what Bourrier and his team did. By monitoring the TRAPPIST-1 planets spectra for signs of hydrogen loss, the team was effectively able to gauge their water content. What they found was that the UV radiation emitted by TRAPPIST-1 suggests that its planets could have lost quite a lot of water during their history....
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