TIP SHEET: Expert available to talk about neutron star merger

Illustration of two neutron stars just before colliding (image courtesy of NASA)

Professor John Bally of the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences is available to discuss the discovery this week of two neutron stars merging, the first time that type of event has been observed by astronomers.

Bally studies the formation of stars and planets, including luminous, transient objects in space. He was a co-author on two papers published this week about the neutron star merger, including one in Science magazine.

The detection of the neutron star merger through both gravity and electromagnetic waves provide a new way of probing the evolution of the universe over cosmic time and a means to study fundamental physical processes that may underlie the technologies and economies of the future, according to Bally.

For more information email Jim Scott in CU Boulder media relations at jim.scott@colorado.edu or call 303-492-3114.