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[slate]

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[slate]

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Well what we saw was

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first a burst of gravitational waves that caused ripples

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in space-time as two very dense

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small stars merged. That merger

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created a fast outpouring of energy

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that caused ripples in space-time and then in the matter explosion

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that followed it formed gold and platinum and

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other materials and put them into the interstellar medium to later

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be used in the formation of stars and planets.

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[slate]

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In the past we have only seen the gamma rays from the

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types of explosions. This time we saw the gravitational waves

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and we saw light with other telescopes

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and it allowed us to put the whole picture together and to see

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these elements, these precious elements being formed

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which we had never seen before.

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[slate]

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Yes we actually believe that most, that all of the gold in the universe formed in explosions

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of this type. And after the explosion happens

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the material that's created is spread out into the interstellar

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medium. The clouds of gas and dust between the stars

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and later on new stars and new planetary systems formed

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from that material and they have gold in them and that's how the gold on

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the Earth came to be that could be mined and put into that ring on your finger.

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[slate]

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Well gravitational waves are ripples in space-time

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that are caused when a huge explosion

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converts matter into energy. And it really is

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gravity, the energy of gravity pushing out through space

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that wiggles everything in it's path for billions of light years.

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It's extremely hard to see. We only saw for the first time

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two years ago. This is only the fourth event that has been

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announced. And so we are learning things about the universe

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about gravitational waves that we were never able to learn before we built

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the incredibly sensitive observatories

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gravitational waves.