The new and powerful telescope will be able to observe collisions between suns millions of kilometers away
In 2017 the first of them could be observed, but it was by chance, now they can be searched
Astronomers have been able for the first time to detect the collision between two dead suns known as neutron stars, thanks to a powerful new telescope. Neutron star collisions are key to our understanding of the Universe. They are believed to have created heavy metals that formed stars and planets like our own billions of years ago.
The light from the shocks is only visible for a couple of nights, so the telescope must be quick to locate them. Astronomers observed one such collision in 2017, but found it largely by chance. The British-built Transient Optical Gravitational-Wave Observer (GOTO), perched above the clouds on the volcanic Spanish island of La Palma, will now systematically search for them.
“When a really good detection comes along, everyone jumps into action to make the most of it“, Professor Danny Steeghs, from the University of Warwick told the BBC a few days ago on La Palma.