The INTEGRAL (International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory) spacecraft plays a crucial role in the new era of astrophysics.

The top artistic view shows two tiny but very dense neutron stars at the point where they merge and explode as a “kilonova”. An event such as this is exceedingly rare, and is expected to produce gravitational waves and a short burst of gamma rays – both observed on August 17, 2017 by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), in the United States, and the Virgo Interferometer, in Italy, as well as ESA’s INTEGRAL spacecraft and NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope.

"The gold rush"

Subsequent detailed observations with telescopes from all over the world, including the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, helped astronomers nail down exactly what the objects were made out of, and which elements their collisions produced. The scientists concluded that the explosion resulting from a neutron star merger produces heavy elements like gold and platinum!