Have you ever wondered how gold originated on Earth? You’re not the only one. Some astronomers believe that the Earth’s gold is likely a result of cataclysmic mergers of neutron stars that occurred billions of years ago.
The cloudy aftermath of a collision between two neutron stars is believed to produce several moons worth of gold by weight. Based on gold prices from this year, that amount of gold would be worth 10 octillion dollars, according to USA today.
Neutron stars, which are collapsed remains of imploded stars, are estimated to weigh nearly 2,200 trillion-trillion tons. This almost 1.4 times the weight of the Sun. Although these stars are dense, they are estimated to be “only” 10 miles wide, smaller than the state of Rhode Island.
