Science & TechFact
The gold in your ring was forged when dead stars collided.
Stars fuse elements in their cores only up to iron. Heavier ones like gold, platinum and uranium need extreme floods of neutrons. In 2017 astronomers watched two neutron stars merge (GW170817), first via gravitational waves, then in the light of a kilonova. Its spectra revealed freshly made heavy elements, estimated at several Earth masses of gold and platinum.
Useful: Nearly every atom in your body except hydrogen was made inside a star or in its death.
Source: en.wikipedia.org