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Astronomers believe most "r-process elements"--elements much heavier than iron, such as gold, platinum and uranium--were created either in the aftermath of the collapse of massive stars and the associated supernova explosions or in the merging of binary neutron star systems. Astrophysicists offer another means by which stars could have produced heavy elements: tiny black holes that came into contact with and were captured by neutron stars, and then destroyed them.
Image credit: NASA
