NASA reiterated an idea that seems poetic but is a scientifically proven fact: that man is not separate from the universe, but rather carries in his body matter created by cosmic events that preceded the existence of the sun and the earth by billions of years.
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This was revealed in today's astronomical image published by the agency, titled "Where Did the Elements of Your Body Come From?", explaining that the hydrogen in our bodies dates back to the Big Bang, while carbon and oxygen were formed inside stars, and much of the iron was created in the explosions of massive stars that ended in supernovae. Some heavier elements, such as gold, are likely to have originated in collisions of neutron stars.
A symbolic depiction of humanity as an extension of cosmic matter and energy, where human life intertwines with the stars and the galaxy in a journey from the universe to existence.
A symbolic depiction of man as an extension of cosmic matter and energy, where human life intertwines with the stars and the galaxy in a journey from the universe to existence (Medium.com)
The idea is not new; the American astronomer Carl Sagan famously said, "We are made of stardust," before evidence accumulated that made the phrase more than just a metaphor.
NASA explains today that the elements found in our bodies, bones, Earth, and asteroids were present in stars that preceded the Sun and the solar system, and that modern telescopes can trace the chemical signatures of these elements in stars and matter dispersed in space.
How did the stars create the components of our bodies?
The story began in the early universe, when most of the hydrogen and helium, along with small amounts of lithium, were produced in the first minutes after the Big Bang. From this primordial matter, the first stars were born, containing almost no elements heavier than helium. Within these stars, nuclear fusion began, creating heavier elements, before some of these elements were scattered into space at the end of their lives.
Thus, the universe entered a cosmic cycle of birth, death, and recycling. When stars explode or eject their matter into space, new elements mix with the gas and dust between the stars, then coalesce under the influence of gravity to form new stars and planetary systems.
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