【Underwater Love】

My grandmother died in 2013.

She was a stubborn,Underwater Love brilliant woman who ardently believed in the value of science. She came of age in Brooklyn, but I knew her as my Nana in Los Angeles who worked with dinosaur bones.

When she died, my grandfather gave me one of Nana's necklaces: A jade stone with a gold chain. I wear it most days.

After today, I will look at that necklace differently.

SEE ALSO: Researchers watched as gold was made millions of light-years from Earth

While the jade stone on Nana's necklace was forged in the high heat and pressure of the Earth -- an appropriate tribute to Nana's roots as a geologist -- the gold of the necklace she once wore is alien in origin.

A discovery announced Monday and made by thousands of scientists around the world, shows that the gold on Earth was actually created as a byproduct of the cataclysmic collisions of neutron stars -- the city-sized stellar remnants that can contain more mass than the sun.

This means that Earth's gold, silver, platinum, and uranium, among other heavy metals, were likely formed during cosmic crashes of neutron-dense stars that represent the leftovers of supernova explosions.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

It's a rare moment when a scientific discovery truly and fundamentally alters the way you think about our world. It's even more unusual when a finding makes you reevaluate your feelings about the jewelry around your neck.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

And it's not just the necklace.

There are also the atoms of the rose gold ring my now-husband gave me when he asked me to marry him on a cold April day in Brooklyn's Prospect Park in 2015. They, too, were also likely the result of crashing neutron stars in the distant cosmos.

The gold on my finger and around my neck probably started out as the radioactive fallout from some of the most intense explosions in the known universe.

These precious metals, which we mine from the Earth for cell phones, jewelry, and so many other uses, are finite on this planet after being born in the stars.

While these materials were created in the most extreme ways, we use them in the most mundane.

That's perhaps the most apropos truth of all: We use these heavy elements for very human means, from connecting with one another via text or on a phone call, to representing a commitment or memory.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The truth is that in some way, every piece of us -- all of our atoms -- were born elsewhere in the universe.

As scientist and science communicator Carl Sagan once said: "The cosmos is also within us. We're made of star stuff. We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."

This week, I think we're getting to know ourselves pretty well.

---

Featured Video For You

---

Why NASA doesn't have enough money

---

• Science
• Digital Culture
• Social Good
• Tech
• Entertainment
• Shopping
• Games
• Deals

• The best day to book your flight, according to Google
• Dreaming in French by Brian Cullman
• My Little Pony, Typography Humor by Sadie Stein
• A Rosier Crucifixion: The Erotic World of Henry Miller by Hannah Tennant
• Best Apple deal: Save $19 on AirTag 4
• Stuffed by James Santel
• What We’re Loving: Eccentrics, Cult Figures by The Paris Review
• Letter from India: The Permit, Part 1 by Amie Barrodale
• Samsung Unpacked stream is set for May 12, 2025
• Map Quest by Alice Bolin

• How to buy a TV online without losing your mind
• Ridley Scott defends recasting Kevin Spacey
• How to protect your keyless car from a relay attack
• Wine gifts under $20
• Menu suggestions for a Buffalo Wild Wings crossover with Arby's
• All I want for Christmas is this gay as hell nativity scene
• YouTube deleted 150,000 kids videos that were targeted by child predators
• 2018 Grammy nominations: Here's the full list
• Weather pattern shift targets East Coast with cold, snow in December
• Google Doodle tribute to horticulturalist is a delightful handmade floral collage

• Philips now allows customers to 3D print replacement parts
• Watch: Nicholson Baker Sings About Jeju Island by Sadie Stein
• Introducing Our Fall Issue! by The Paris Review
• Letter from India: The Permit, Part 3 by Amie Barrodale
• SpaceX's Starlink satellite launch in pictures
• Power Lunches by Jamie Feldmar
• Man Pulls Sword over Badly Treated Book: Happy Monday! by Sadie Stein
• What We’re Loving: Eccentrics, Cult Figures by The Paris Review
• Exceptionally rare radio sources detected in the distant universe
• All in a Single String by Maria Konnikova

• Best robot vacuum deal: Eufy Omni C20 robot vacuum and mop at record
• My Little Pony, Typography Humor by Sadie Stein
• Letter from India: The Haunting by Amie Barrodale
• What We’re Loving: Old New York, The Boss, SodaStream by The Paris Review
• This is the fattest of the extremely fat bears
• Signatures, Notes, and Lists by Sadie Stein
• Bradbury’s File, The Unified Field by Sadie Stein
• Wharton, Borges, and Grey: Fan
• What cracked the Milky Way's giant cosmic bone? Scientists think they know.
• Kubrick, Steinbeck, and Stine, Oh My! by Sadie Stein