1st evidence of nuclear fission in stars hints at elements 'never produced on Earth'

The merger of two neutron stars, which is believed to create an environment so turbulent the heavy elements of the universe like gold can be forged here.

The silver and gold in your jewelry may be the result of massive, ancient stars splitting apart elements heavier than anything formed naturally on Earth, a new study suggests. The research offers the first compelling evidence of nuclear fission in the cores of massive stars.

Elements heavier than iron are thought to be born in some of the most violent explosions in the cosmos, like the cataclysmic mergers of neutron stars. The coalescence of these ultradense remnants — which are forged when once-massive stars collapse — creates superheavy atomic nuclei packed with neutrons in less than a second. In a flash, the jam-packed nucleus seems to go through internal changes and forms elements such as silver and gold.