Have scientists just found a new cosmic source of gold? How 'starquakes' might forge the glittering metal

Economic Times

04-05-2025

Scientists may have found a cosmic clue to gold's origins—giant flares from magnetars, ultra-magnetic neutron stars, could forge heavy elements like gold.
For decades, astronomers have puzzled over one of the universe's most glittering mysteries: where does gold come from? While the origins of elements like hydrogen and helium trace back to the Big Bang, and heavier elements like iron are born in the explosive deaths of stars, gold—being far heavier—has long been an enigma. Until now, the only known factories of this precious metal were the spectacular collisions of neutron stars, the ultra-dense remnants of supernovae. But according to a report from CNN , a new study has cracked open a cosmic cold case with a dramatic revelation: gold might also be born from the flares of magnetars—supercharged neutron stars with magnetic fields a quadrillion times stronger than Earth's. If true, the implications don't just shake up our understanding of cosmic chemistry—they rewrite it.
The potential breakthrough comes from a deeper look at data collected nearly 20 years ago. Researchers analyzing signals from NASA and ESA space telescopes discovered a gamma-ray burst from 2004 that aligns remarkably well with theoretical models of a magnetar explosion. These models suggest that under extreme conditions, when a magnetar undergoes a 'starquake'—akin to an earthquake but on a star's crust—it can eject crust material at unimaginable speeds. This material, they argue, could contain the seeds of gold and other heavy elements.
'We think the starquakes on magnetars produce short, intense bursts of X-rays,' said Eric Burns, a coauthor of the study and astrophysicist at Louisiana State University. 'Sometimes, one of these flares becomes so massive, it hurls part of the star's surface into space.' And that, scientists now believe, might just be enough to spark the creation of gold.
— lsuscience (@lsuscience) The 2004 event, captured by the INTEGRAL mission and long forgotten, suddenly re-emerged as a golden lead. Matching this ancient gamma-ray signature with predictions from Columbia University's Brian Metzger and his team, the researchers found eerie similarities—evidence that the flare may have, in fact, carried the fingerprint of heavy element production.
Lead author Anirudh Patel, a PhD student at Columbia, likened the discovery to a surprise holiday gift. 'When we built our models in December 2024, we didn't realize the signal had already been hiding in plain sight,' he said. 'It's incredible to think that gold used in everyday electronics could have been forged in such a violent, ancient blast.'
While the excitement is palpable, not all astrophysicists are ready to hail magnetars as gold mines. Dr. Eleonora Troja, who helped confirm the gold-making potential of neutron star collisions in 2017, urged caution. 'Magnetars are chaotic, messy systems,' she said. 'They may add too many electrons, which could lead to lighter metals like silver or zirconium, rather than gold.'
She agrees that the flare presents a fascinating possibility but warns it's not yet definitive proof. The creation of gold, she noted, requires a very specific recipe—and magnetars might not always have the right ingredients. To truly determine if magnetars are responsible for scattering stardust treasures across the galaxy, scientists will need more than archival data. That's where NASA's upcoming Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI), set to launch in 2027, comes in. Designed to detect gamma rays from cosmic phenomena, COSI could track future magnetar flares in real time and search for the chemical fingerprints of heavy elements. Until then, the mystery remains tantalizing. Are these fiery, magnetic titans quietly churning out gold as they quake and flare across the universe? Or is this just one of many illusions in the great cosmic forge? Whatever the answer, one thing is clear: our search for celestial gold is far from over—and the universe may be hiding its treasure in the most explosive places. Would you like a headline banner or visual element to go with this piece for web?