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Spectrum of a Kilonova

Spectrum of a Kilonova
Five days after an August 17 gravitational wave event, the Hubble Space Telescope pointed its spectrograph at an associated bright flare called a kilonova (which is a thousand times brighter than a classical nova). The resulting spectrum of infrared light is difficult to interpret. Spectral lines can be used to identify individual chemical elements, however the material generating this glow is moving so fast that the lines are smeared out. The peak in brightness around a wavelength of 1,100 nanometers is predicted to come from a variety of radioactive elements collectively called lanthanides, which were generated by the collision of two neutron stars.

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
    Spectrum of a kilonova, showing the Lanthanide peak.
  • Release Date
    October 16, 2017
  • Science Release
    NASA Missions Catch First Light from a Gravitational-Wave Event
    Read the release
  • Credit
    NASA, ESA, and A. Feild (STScI) Acknowledgment: A. Levan (University of Warwick), N. Tanvir (University of Leicester), and A. Fruchter and O. Fox (STScI)

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Last Updated
Mar 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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