The Children of Deceased Stars

Powered by nuclear fusion, stars are the factories of our universe. At their core, atoms are colliding at tremendous speed. This not only alters their atomic structure but releases an enormous amount of energy.

Hydrogen fuels our universe. It is the most common element in the cosmos, and the simplest with one proton. Our sun is a young star — about five billion year old. It provides us with energy by converting this hydrogen into helium. Helium is the next most common element in the universe after hydrogen, with two protons.

Once a star runs out of hydrogen, it begins to transform helium into heavier elements. Each star contributes to the creation of different atomic elements, depending on its mass and its age. During a supernova, when a massive star explodes at the end of its life, the resulting high energy environment enables the creation of even heavier elements, and disperses all this matter across the whole universe. It can be used and transformed by the next generation of stars, or it can agglomerate into planets.

On Earth, hydrogen and helium make up only a small part of our environment. All the other elements were formed in the deep cosmos, by the generations of stars preceding our sun, billions of years ago.

Any life form that originates from Earth, is necessarily created by same stellar matter. Everything around us is stellar matter. Our bodies are stellar matter. There could be no life without the death of stars. We are the children of these deceased stars.

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