NASA Discovers Collision of Extreme Stars in Unexpected Site

Neutron star merger found in tiny galaxy embedded in massive gas stream

Published on Mar. 10, 2026

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NASA missions have likely uncovered a collision between two ultradense neutron stars in a tiny galaxy buried within a huge stream of gas, an event never seen before in such an environment. This discovery may help solve two outstanding cosmic mysteries related to gamma-ray bursts and the origin of heavy elements like gold and platinum.

Why it matters

Finding a neutron star collision in this unexpected location is a game-changing discovery that could provide insights into why some gamma-ray bursts do not appear to originate from the cores of galaxies, and how heavy elements like gold and platinum end up in stars far from galactic centers.

The details

The neutron star collision, dubbed GRB 230906A, occurred on September 6, 2023 in a tiny galaxy about 4.7 billion light-years away, embedded within a 600,000 light-year long stream of gas likely created by a past galaxy collision. Several NASA telescopes, including Chandra, Fermi, Swift, and Hubble, were needed to precisely locate and study this event.

  • The neutron star collision, dubbed GRB 230906A, occurred on September 6, 2023.
  • The galaxy collision that created the gas stream likely happened hundreds of millions of years ago.

The players

Simone Dichiara

A researcher at Penn State University who led the study.

Eleonora Troja

A co-author from the University of Rome in Italy.

Brendan O'Connor

A McWilliams Postdoctoral Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University and co-author.

Chandra X-ray Observatory

A NASA telescope that played a key role in precisely locating the event.

Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope

A NASA telescope that first detected the gamma-ray burst signal from the neutron star collision.

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What they’re saying

“Finding a neutron star collision where we did is game changing. It may be the key to unlocking not one, but two important questions in astrophysics.”

— Simone Dichiara, Researcher, Penn State University (The Astrophysical Journal Letters)

“We found a collision within a collision. The galaxy collision triggered a wave of star formation that, over hundreds of millions of years, led to the birth and eventual collision of these neutron stars.”

— Eleonora Troja, Co-author, University of Rome (The Astrophysical Journal Letters)

“Chandra's pinpoint X-ray localization made this study possible. Without it, we couldn't have tied the burst to any specific source. And once Chandra told us exactly where to look, Hubble's extraordinary sensitivity revealed the tiny, extremely faint galaxy at that position. We were only able to make this discovery after we put all the pieces together.”

— Brendan O'Connor, McWilliams Postdoctoral Fellow, Carnegie Mellon University (The Astrophysical Journal Letters)

What’s next

The team considers the possibility that the explosion is located in a much more distant galaxy behind the galaxy group, but they believe the tiny galaxy idea is more likely.

The takeaway

This unexpected discovery of a neutron star collision in a tiny, faint galaxy embedded in a massive gas stream could help explain the origins of some gamma-ray bursts and the presence of heavy elements like gold and platinum in stars far from galactic centers, advancing our understanding of extreme stellar phenomena and the chemical evolution of the universe.