Astronomers may have spotted the afterglow from a 'kilonova' explosion - Daily Mail

Kilonovas are immense explosions caused by neutron stars colliding into each other, sending an intense jet of of high-energy particles through space. .

In this artist's representation, the merger of two neutron stars to form a black hole (hidden within bright bulge at center of image) generates opposing, high-energy jets of material (blue) that heat up material around the stars, making it emit X-rays (reddish clouds).

Kilonovas are immense explosions caused by neutron stars colliding into each other, sending an intense jet of of high-energy particles through space. .

The merger between the two neutron stars – some of the densest objects in the universe – creates a blast 1,000 times brighter than a classical nova.  .

'We have entered uncharted territory here in studying the aftermath of a neutron star merger,' said Northwestern's Aprajita Hajela, who led the study. .

When the two neutron stars meet, their merger leads to the formation of either a more massive neutron star, or a black hole, depending on mass. ?

Back in 2017, scientists detected the merger of two neutron stars in a galaxy named NGC 4993, thanks to a gravitational wave signal called GW170817.    

An alternative explanation is materials falling toward a black hole – formed as a result of the neutron star merger – caused the X-rays

'The detection of a kilonova afterglow would imply that the merger did not immediately produce a black hole

This leaves an extremely dense object known as a neutron star, which squashes more mass than is contained in the sun into the size of a city

A neutron star typically would have a mass that's perhaps half-a-million times the mass of the Earth, but they're only about 20 kilometres (12 miles) across

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