Major gold breakthrough as scientists answer 'one of the questions of the century'

Scientists may have discovered where gold came from in the early universe, according to a new study. Researchers revealed that powerful flares that originated from neutron stars with strong magnetic fields - “magnetars" - may have started forming gold after the Big Bang, much earlier than previously thought possible. The findings of the study were published on Tuesday, April 29, in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

There has been confusion about where the universe's large amounts of gold had originated from. Experts were aware that mergers of collapsed stars and black holes discharge heavy metals. However, in 2017, for the first time ever, astronomers observed the merger of two superdense stellar corpses known as neutron stars.

The cataclysmic collision, which took place 130 million light-years away, emitted a flash of light that contained signatures of heavy metals, including platinum and shocking amounts of gold, reports Live Science.

The 2017 event, however, could not explain how the precious material and other heavy metals formed in the universe's early days, because not enough time had passed for neutron star mergers to occur.

Now, scientists believe they can finally explain how gold and other heavy material were first created and distributed in space, answering what one professor says is "one of the question’s of the century".

Magnetars have existed since the early days of the universe, and according to a NASA statement the study's authors estimate that these structures may have been the cause of up to 10% of all elements heavier than iron in the Milky Way.

Researchers used 20-year-old data from NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) telescopes to uncover the source of gold and heavy metals hiding in the universe.

The results of a 2024 study allowed the researchers to narrow their search to the stars as it found that magnetar giant flares, bursts of radiation released during "starquakes” can eject material from the crust of neutron stars and into space.

The last magnetar giant flare observed from the Earth was in 2004, and at the time, scientists spotted a small gamma ray signal, "but nobody had any conception of what it could be," Eric Burns, study co-author and assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Louisiana State University, said.

Researchers will be looking for further clues in older magentar giant flare data. NASA's Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) mission will also follow up on the results when it is launched, which is expected in 2027.