Scientists analyzed a lump of ferromanganese rock from the Pacific Ocean seafloor, finding hundreds of atoms of plutonium radioisotopes (Pu-244) that provide clues about an ancient cosmic event.

Pacific Ocean seafloor

Who

scientists from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf institution in Germany and Australia's Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), including Dr. Michael Hotchkis and Dominic Koll

What

When

Thu, 18 Jun 2026 20:51:00 GMT · 12h 37m ago

Where

Pacific Ocean seafloor ·

Why

The plutonium isotopes originated from an energetic kilonova, a collision of two neutron stars more than a hundred million years ago, which sent long-lived elements through space.

The Frontline Impact

How this affects you

This chemical analysis of cosmic debris advances the dating of ancient cosmic events and understanding of r-process nucleosynthesis, providing empirical data for astronomical observations of neutron star mergers.

Story chain

1 event in this thread

No related history yet - this is the origin event.

Verified Sources & Citations

Universe Today
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/plutonium-in-earth-rocks-signals-long-ago-cosmic-collision
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