The human body is made up of four fundamental elements: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen (also called the CHON or HONC elements). So are rocks, plants, animals, water and air. Do you know where these elements came from? The STARS. Yes, even the calcium in your bone and iron in your blood came from the distant stars. In fact, every atom in your body was forged in the centre of stars years ago. Read on to know how…
When the universe began 13 or 14 billion years ago, with the Big Bang, the only elements that existed were hydrogen, helium and a small amount of lithium. Over time, gravity increasingly pulled gas molecules towards each other and eventually gave birth to the first generation of stars. These stars were much greater than our Sun in size and temperature. The nuclear fusion within those stars then produced heavier elements, including carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen. When the stars exploded in supernova at the end of their life-cycle, the elements were shot into the far-flung reaches of the universe. Those stellar explosions continued, making new stars and planets. As more, massive stars exploded heavier elements continued to be created. Stars and elements are still being born this way, even as you read this.
As far as our galaxy, Milky Way, is concerned, stars had generated most elements now present on Earth about 5 billion years ago. Within the next billion years, the first signs of life on Earth appeared. No one is exactly sure how life formed on the planet. But one thing is clear like Carl Sagan said. “The cosmos is also within us, we’re made of star stuff.
Picture Credit : Google