{ "id": 12949, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12949/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Star Collision", "description": "Light bursts from the collision of two neutron stars. || Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_1_1024x576.jpg (1024x576) [148.9 KB] || Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_1.jpg (3840x2160) [2.4 MB] || Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_1_searchweb.png (320x180) [88.4 KB] || Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_1_thm.png (80x40) [7.3 KB] || ", "release_date": "2018-07-02T13:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2025-06-23T00:18:03.203334-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 402363, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012949/Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_1_1024x576.jpg", "filename": "Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_1_1024x576.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Light bursts from the collision of two neutron stars.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 }, "main_video": null, "main_credits": { "Visualizations by": [ { "name": "Brian Monroe", "employer": "USRA" } ], "Produced by": [ { "name": "Scott Wiessinger", "employer": "USRA" } ], "Scientific consulting by": [ { "name": "Julie McEnery", "employer": "NASA/GSFC" }, { "name": "Brad Cenko", "employer": "NASA/GSFC" }, { "name": "Eleonora Troja", "employer": "University of Maryland College Park" } ], "Written by": [ { "name": "Francis Reddy", "employer": "University of Maryland College Park" } ] }, "progress": "Complete", "media_groups": [ { "id": 326263, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12949/#media_group_326263", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Light bursts from the collision of two neutron stars.", "items": [ { "id": 246847, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 402363, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012949/Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_1_1024x576.jpg", "filename": "Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_1_1024x576.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Light bursts from the collision of two neutron stars.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 246846, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 402366, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012949/Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_1.jpg", "filename": "Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_1.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Light bursts from the collision of two neutron stars.", "width": 3840, "height": 2160, "pixels": 8294400 } }, { "id": 246848, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 402365, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012949/Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_1_searchweb.png", "filename": "Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_1_searchweb.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Light bursts from the collision of two neutron stars.", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 246849, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 402364, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012949/Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_1_thm.png", "filename": "Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_1_thm.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Light bursts from the collision of two neutron stars.", "width": 80, "height": 40, "pixels": 3200 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 326262, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12949/#media_group_326262", "widget": "Basic text with HTML", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Nearly 130 million light-years away from Earth, two neutron stars merged. These crushed, leftover cores of massive stars orbited around each other hundreds of times a second in a tight swirling dance that produced ripples through space called gravitational waves. Eventually the two neutron stars spun fast enough and close enough to each break apart and then merge together releasing energy in a gamma-ray burst and a flash of light called a kilonova. On Earth detectors and telescopes in space and around the world, including NASA’s Swift, Hubble, Spitzer, and Chandra telescopes, saw the light from the collision in August 2017. Combined with the groundbreaking detection of its gravitational waves by the National Science Foundation's Laser Inferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (LIGO) and NASA's Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope, scientists have a comprehensive set of observations that will help them test conclusions about the merging of neutron stars. Watch the video to learn more.", "items": [], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 326264, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12949/#media_group_326264", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Watch this animation of two neutron stars colliding and the kilonova that followed.", "items": [ { "id": 246852, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 402367, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012949/Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_2_new_print.jpg", "filename": "Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_2_new_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Watch this animation of two neutron stars colliding and the kilonova that followed.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 246851, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 402369, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012949/12740_Neutron_Star_Merger_high.mp4", "filename": "12740_Neutron_Star_Merger_high.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Watch this animation of two neutron stars colliding and the kilonova that followed.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 246853, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 402370, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012949/12740_Neutron_Star_Merger_high.webm", "filename": "12740_Neutron_Star_Merger_high.webm", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Watch this animation of two neutron stars colliding and the kilonova that followed.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 246850, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 850884, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012949/a012949_iPad_movie_12740_Neutron_Star_Merger/12740_Neutron_Star_Merger.m3u8", "filename": "12740_Neutron_Star_Merger.m3u8", "media_type": "File", "alt_text": "Watch this animation of two neutron stars colliding and the kilonova that followed." } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 326265, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12949/#media_group_326265", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Listen to the gravitational wave detected by LIGO, followed by a ding when the gamma-ray burst was observed by Fermi.", "items": [ { "id": 246856, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 402373, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012949/Fermi-LIGO_Graph_Sound_Still.jpg", "filename": "Fermi-LIGO_Graph_Sound_Still.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Listen to the gravitational wave detected by LIGO, followed by a ding when the gamma-ray burst was observed by Fermi.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 246857, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 402374, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012949/Fermi-LIGO_Graph_Sound_Still_1024x576.jpg", "filename": "Fermi-LIGO_Graph_Sound_Still_1024x576.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Listen to the gravitational wave detected by LIGO, followed by a ding when the gamma-ray burst was observed by Fermi.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 246855, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 402372, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012949/12740_Fermi-LIGO_Graph_Sound_high.mp4", "filename": "12740_Fermi-LIGO_Graph_Sound_high.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Listen to the gravitational wave detected by LIGO, followed by a ding when the gamma-ray burst was observed by Fermi.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 246858, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 402375, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012949/12740_Fermi-LIGO_Graph_Sound_high.webm", "filename": "12740_Fermi-LIGO_Graph_Sound_high.webm", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Listen to the gravitational wave detected by LIGO, followed by a ding when the gamma-ray burst was observed by Fermi.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 246854, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 850885, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012949/a012949_iPad_movie_12740_Fermi-LIGO_Graph_Sound/12740_Fermi-LIGO_Graph_Sound.m3u8", "filename": "12740_Fermi-LIGO_Graph_Sound.m3u8", "media_type": "File", "alt_text": "Listen to the gravitational wave detected by LIGO, followed by a ding when the gamma-ray burst was observed by Fermi." } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 326266, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12949/#media_group_326266", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Some of the debris blasts away in particle jets moving at nearly the speed of light, producing a brief burst of gamma-rays.", "items": [ { "id": 246859, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 402376, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012949/NeutronStarMerger_Shot1_4KStill4_v01_print.jpg", "filename": "NeutronStarMerger_Shot1_4KStill4_v01_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Some of the debris blasts away in particle jets moving at nearly the speed of light, producing a brief burst of gamma-rays.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 246860, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 402377, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012949/NeutronStarMerger_Shot1_4KStill4_v01.png", "filename": "NeutronStarMerger_Shot1_4KStill4_v01.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Some of the debris blasts away in particle jets moving at nearly the speed of light, producing a brief burst of gamma-rays.", "width": 3840, "height": 2160, "pixels": 8294400 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 326267, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12949/#media_group_326267", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "The hot, dense cloud of debris from the neutron stars produced the kilonova's visible and infrared light.", "items": [ { "id": 246862, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 402379, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012949/Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_3_1024x576.jpg", "filename": "Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_3_1024x576.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "The hot, dense cloud of debris from the neutron stars produced the kilonova's visible and infrared light.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 246861, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 402378, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012949/Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_3.jpg", "filename": "Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_3.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "The hot, dense cloud of debris from the neutron stars produced the kilonova's visible and infrared light.", "width": 3840, "height": 2160, "pixels": 8294400 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 326268, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12949/#media_group_326268", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "X-rays (blue) were the last type of light observed in the remaining jet, spreading out laterally.", "items": [ { "id": 246864, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 402381, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012949/NeutronStarMerger_Shot2_4KStill2_v01_1024x576.jpg", "filename": "NeutronStarMerger_Shot2_4KStill2_v01_1024x576.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "X-rays (blue) were the last type of light observed in the remaining jet, spreading out laterally.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 246863, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 402380, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012949/NeutronStarMerger_Shot2_4KStill2_v01.png", "filename": "NeutronStarMerger_Shot2_4KStill2_v01.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "X-rays (blue) were the last type of light observed in the remaining jet, spreading out laterally.", "width": 3840, "height": 2160, "pixels": 8294400 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 326269, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12949/#media_group_326269", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Swift's Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope imaged the kilonova (top left in the inset) on Aug. 18, 2017, which occurred in the galaxy NGC 4993.", "items": [ { "id": 246866, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 402383, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012949/Swift170818_with_inset_16x9.jpg", "filename": "Swift170818_with_inset_16x9.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Swift's Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope imaged the kilonova (top left in the inset) on Aug. 18, 2017, which occurred in the galaxy NGC 4993.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 246865, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 402382, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012949/Swift170818_with_inset.jpg", "filename": "Swift170818_with_inset.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Swift's Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope imaged the kilonova (top left in the inset) on Aug. 18, 2017, which occurred in the galaxy NGC 4993.", "width": 2500, "height": 2517, "pixels": 6292500 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 326270, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12949/#media_group_326270", "widget": "Basic text", "title": "For More Information", "caption": "", "description": "See [NASA.gov](https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-missions-catch-first-light-from-a-gravitational-wave-event)", "items": [], "extra_data": {} } ], "studio": "gms", "funding_sources": [ "ESE" ], "credits": [ { "role": "Animator", "people": [ { "name": "Brian Monroe", "employer": "USRA" }, { "name": "Scott Wiessinger", "employer": "USRA" } ] }, { "role": "Producer", "people": [ { "name": "Scott Wiessinger", "employer": "USRA" } ] }, { "role": "Scientist", "people": [ { "name": "Julie McEnery", "employer": "NASA/GSFC" }, { "name": "Brad Cenko", "employer": "NASA/GSFC" }, { "name": "Eleonora Troja", "employer": "University of Maryland College Park" } ] }, { "role": "Writer", "people": [ { "name": "Francis Reddy", "employer": "University of Maryland College Park" }, { "name": "Trey Russell Mason", "employer": "Experiential Learning Program, UMD" } ] } ], "missions": [], "series": [], "tapes": [], "papers": [], "datasets": [], "nasa_science_categories": [ "Universe" ], "keywords": [ "App", "Ast", "Astrophysics", "HDTV", "Hyperwall" ], "recommended_pages": [], "related": [ { "id": 14884, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14884/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "NASA Supercomputer Probes Tangled Magnetospheres of Merging Neutron Stars", "description": "New supercomputer simulations explore the tangled magnetic structures around merging neutron stars. These structures, called magnetospheres, interact as the city-sized stars enter their final orbits. Magnetic field lines can connect both stars, break, and reconnect, while currents surge through surrounding plasma moving at nearly the speed of light. The simulations show that these systems may produce X-rays and gamma rays that future observatories should be able to detect. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight CenterAlt text: Narrated video introducing simulations of merging neutron star magnetospheresMusic: “A Theory Develops,” Pip Heywood [PRS], Universal Production MusicWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || NS_Binary_Sim_Still.jpg (5760x3240) [1.4 MB] || NS_Binary_Sim_Still_searchweb.png (320x180) [67.6 KB] || NS_Binary_Sim_Still_thm.png (80x40) [5.2 KB] || 14884_NeutronStarBinarySim2_good.mp4 (1920x1080) [220.4 MB] || 14884_NeutronStarBinarySim2_best.mp4 (1920x1080) [363.9 MB] || NeutronStarBinarySimulationCaptions.en_US.srt [2.4 KB] || NeutronStarBinarySimulationCaptions.en_US.vtt [2.2 KB] || 14884_NeutronStarBinarySim2_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [1.7 GB] || ", "release_date": "2026-01-29T11:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2026-01-22T10:17:05.309486-05:00", "main_image": { "id": 1159928, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014800/a014884/NS_Binary_Sim_Still_searchweb.png", "filename": "NS_Binary_Sim_Still_searchweb.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "New supercomputer simulations explore the tangled magnetic structures around merging neutron stars. These structures, called magnetospheres, interact as the city-sized stars enter their final orbits. Magnetic field lines can connect both stars, break, and reconnect, while currents surge through surrounding plasma moving at nearly the speed of light. The simulations show that these systems may produce X-rays and gamma rays that future observatories should be able to detect. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight CenterAlt text: Narrated video introducing simulations of merging neutron star magnetospheresMusic: “A Theory Develops,” Pip Heywood [PRS], Universal Production MusicWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available.", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 12740, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12740/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Doomed Neutron Stars Create Blast of Light and Gravitational Waves", "description": "This animation captures phenomena observed over the course of nine days following the neutron star merger known as GW170817, detected on Aug. 17, 2017. They include gravitational waves (pale arcs), a near-light-speed jet that produced gamma rays (magenta), expanding debris from a kilonova that produced ultraviolet (violet), optical and infrared (blue-white to red) emission, and, once the jet directed toward us expanded into our view from Earth, X-rays (blue). Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/CI LabMusic: \"Exploding Skies\" from Killer TracksWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_2_new_1080.png (1920x1080) [2.5 MB] || Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_2_new_1080.jpg (1920x1080) [167.3 KB] || Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_2_new_print.jpg (1024x576) [50.4 KB] || Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_2_new.png (3840x2160) [7.7 MB] || Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_2_new.jpg (3840x2160) [1.0 MB] || Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_2_new_thm.png (80x40) [4.4 KB] || Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_2_new_searchweb.png (320x180) [51.4 KB] || 12740_NS_Merger_Update_1080.m4v (1920x1080) [50.3 MB] || 12740_NS_Merger_Update_H264_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [96.9 MB] || 12740_NS_Merger_Update_1080p.mov (1920x1080) [101.9 MB] || NS_Merger_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt [417 bytes] || NS_Merger_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt [399 bytes] || 12740_NS_Merger_4k_Update.webm (3840x2160) [10.0 MB] || 12740_NS_Merger_4k_Update_H264.mp4 (3840x2160) [254.9 MB] || 12740_NS_Merger_4k_Update_H264.mov (3840x2160) [516.7 MB] || 12740_NS_Merger_4k_Update_ProRes_3840x2160_5994.mov (3840x2160) [5.1 GB] || 12740_NS_Merger_4k_Update_H264.hwshow [90 bytes] || ", "release_date": "2017-10-16T10:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2025-06-23T00:17:47.900998-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 410279, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012700/a012740/Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_2_new_1080.jpg", "filename": "Neutron_Star_Merger_Still_2_new_1080.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This animation captures phenomena observed over the course of nine days following the neutron star merger known as GW170817, detected on Aug. 17, 2017. They include gravitational waves (pale arcs), a near-light-speed jet that produced gamma rays (magenta), expanding debris from a kilonova that produced ultraviolet (violet), optical and infrared (blue-white to red) emission, and, once the jet directed toward us expanded into our view from Earth, X-rays (blue). Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/CI LabMusic: \"Exploding Skies\" from Killer TracksWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } } ], "sources": [], "products": [], "newer_versions": [], "older_versions": [], "alternate_versions": [] }