Kilonovae are cosmic optical flashes produced in the aftermath of the merger of two neutron stars. While the typical radiant flux of a kilonova can be as high as 1034 W, they typically occur at cosmological distances, requiring meter-class or larger telescopes for their observation. Here, we explore how a kilonova would look like from the Earth if it occurred in the Solar System's backyard, 1000 light years from the Earth. This is a small distance on cosmological scales, with only one neutron-star merger expected to occur this close every 100 000 000 years. While humans will likely only see kilonovae at much greater distances, showing how such a nearby event would look on camera can help visualize these events and demonstrate their unique spectral evolution.
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July 2020
PAPERS|
July 01 2020
How would a nearby kilonova look on camera?
Nihar Gupte;
Nihar Gupte
a)
Department of Physics, University of Florida
, Gainesville, Florida 32611
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Imre Bartos
Imre Bartos
b)
Department of Physics, University of Florida
, Gainesville, Florida 32611
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Am. J. Phys. 88, 568–572 (2020)
Article history
Received:
October 19 2019
Accepted:
April 15 2020
Citation
Nihar Gupte, Imre Bartos; How would a nearby kilonova look on camera?. Am. J. Phys. 1 July 2020; 88 (7): 568–572. https://doi.org/10.1119/10.0001193
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