James Webb Space Telescope examines massive kilonova explosion for first time

When two neutron stars crash together, they produce a big and bright explosion known as a kilonova. A neutron star is the condensed remnant of incredibly massive stars that have undergone gravitational collapse.

The orbiting neutron stars collide at tremendous speeds, and in this process emit gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), which are brief bursts of extremely energetic gamma rays. GRBs frequently release an equivalent amount of energy within a brief timespan that surpasses the total energy output our Sun will emit over its entire lifespan of 10 billion years.

Thanks to the incredibly bright…