this one is for my lovely astronomy admirers!
we are quite literally made of stardust!
every atom in our bodies, aside from primordial hydrogen, was literally cooked in deep space and brought over to Earth over billions of years!!
hydrogen and helium were not formed in stars, but created in the big bang itself and make up most of the water and organic molecules in our bodies. nitrogen, carbon, and oxygen are the lighter 'life elements' that are forged during the normal lifespans of low-to-medium mass stars. they are released into space through stellar winds or when a star sheds its outer layers as a planetary nebula. calcium and iron are heavier elements, calcium is largely produced during supernova explosions of massive stars. iron, on the other hand, is unique! while some of it comes from massive supernovae, a massive portion of the iron in our blood comes from type la supernovae, which occurs when a white dwarf star pulls too much material from a neighbor and completely explodes. lastly, gold and iodine - these elements are even heavier than iron and often require more extreme cosmic collisions, like two neutron stars smashing into each other. ISN'T THAT COOL?!?
baratheonpilled
blakekathryn
kianamaiart
ellievsbear
germansingergirl
snowghoul
prguitarman
