<p>Nickel is formed in supernovae.</p>
<p>There are several different types of supernova.  W<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nucleosynthesis_periodic_table.svg" rel="noreferrer">ikipedia suggests that about 70% of nickel was formed in exploding white dwarfs, and 30% in explosions of massive stars</a>.  Unlike say gold, merging neutron stars do not produce a substantial proportion of the nickel on Earth.</p>
<p>We know about the composition of the core by Earth Science techniques (studies of Earthquake waves that pass through the core tell us about its density, we also know about the mass of the Earth, and these are all consistent with an iron-nickel core)  And from meteorites.  Metallic meteorites have come from the cores of disrupted asteroids, and these asteroids formed at the same time as the Earth. They are made of the same mix of iron and nickel.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-22T09:09:24.277Z
My bad, it supposes to be "collision of neutron stars", I will change the question now. Thank you.
Jack the Ranger
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-22T08:41:05.300Z
2020-12-22T11:39:01.420Z
2020-12-22T11:39:01.420Z
James K
<p>Why is there nickel in the core of the earth? Does it come from collisions of two neutron stars? And how did we know the core of our planet is made of nickel-iron alloy? Thank you.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-22T06:30:18.767Z
See: https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/questions/562/why-is-earths-inner-core-made-of-an-iron-nickel-alloy
Nilay Ghosh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-22T08:16:27.920Z
@NilayGhosh Thank you. But the question isn't 100% match my question here in my opinion.
Jack the Ranger
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-22T16:09:11.347Z
These are three rather different questions. "Where does the nickel in Earth's core come from?" might be the most well suited for this site.
usernumber
<planet><earth>
Where did the nickel in the Earth's core come from?
Jack the Ranger
# Where did the nickel in the Earth's core come from?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-12-22)

Why is there nickel in the core of the earth? Does it come from collisions of two neutron stars? And how did we know the core of our planet is made of nickel-iron alloy? Thank you.

**Tags:** planet, earth
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: See: https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/questions/562/why-is-earths-inner-core-made-of-an-iron-nickel-alloy  
> **username_0**: @NilayGhosh Thank you. But the question isn't 100% match my question here in my opinion.  
> **username_2**: These are three rather different questions. "Where does the nickel in Earth's core come from?" might be the most well suited for this site.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2020-12-22. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

Nickel is formed in supernovae.

There are several different types of supernova. W[ikipedia suggests that about 70% of nickel was formed in exploding white dwarfs, and 30% in explosions of massive stars](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nucleosynthesis_periodic_table.svg). Unlike say gold, merging neutron stars do not produce a substantial proportion of the nickel on Earth.

We know about the composition of the core by Earth Science techniques (studies of Earthquake waves that pass through the core tell us about its density, we also know about the mass of the Earth, and these are all consistent with an iron-nickel core) And from meteorites. Metallic meteorites have come from the cores of disrupted asteroids, and these asteroids formed at the same time as the Earth. They are made of the same mix of iron and nickel.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: My bad, it supposes to be "collision of neutron stars", I will change the question now. Thank you.  

---

