[On February 6, 2018], Elon Musk’s SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon Heavy rocket into space. The payload included Musk’s red Tesla Roadster carrying a mannequin the company called Starman. The Tesla is well into space now and is headed towards an orbit that will put it in close proximity to Mars.

According to his estimates, this neutron star collision produced around 200 Earth masses of pure gold, and maybe 500 Earth masses of platinum. “It’s a ridiculously huge amount on human scales,” Kasen says. He personally has a platinum wedding ring and notes that “it’s crazy to think that these things that seem very far out […]