How Gold Came From Space

Gold has long been a highly prized commodity for millennials and generations. Recognized for its durability, resistance to erosion, and malleability, gold has captivated humans for centuries. The alchemists' chief goal was to transform ordinary materials into gold, symbolizing the human fascination with the creation of this precious element. However, the true origin of gold originates from a force far more potent than anything on Earth.

Gold, along with other heavy elements, was thought to be a product of the violent demise of stars, specifically in supernova explosions. In these explosive events, a star exhausts its nuclear fuel and collapses under its gravity, culminating in an incredible explosion. These extreme temperatures and pressures of these cataclysms ignite nuclear reactions that generate heavy elements like iron and gold. But recent calculations proved that these explosions did not have enough energy to produce elements heavier than iron, so that could not be the source of gold.

So scientists had to look for a bigger energy source that could generate gold, and they found it in neutron star collisions. Neutron stars are ultra-dense remnants of supernovae. When two collide, they create a kilonova explosion even more powerful than a supernova. Observations suggest these collisions release vast amounts of heavy elements, possibly producing much more gold than existing on Earth.

Therefore, the gold found in rivers and mines on Earth likely originates from meteor showers that occurred after these neutron star collisions. Today, we can recreate the process of gold creation in laboratories, but the immense energy required to produce a few milligrams of gold makes it uneconomic. So, for now, we need to use and live with the gold that is truly extraterrestrial.

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