fern (she/her)Jan 29, 2025
Corey S Powell

You've probably heard that "we are stardust," but this graphic breaks it down further & tells you what kind of stars your dust came from--and which elements didn't come from stars at all.

https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13873/ #science #nature #space

NASA Scientific Visualization Studio | Periodic Table of the Elements: Origins of the Elements

The periodic table organizes all the known elements by atomic number, which is the number of protons in each atom of the element. This version of the table, which draws on data compiled by astronomer Jennifer Johnson from Ohio State University, shows our current understanding of how each element found on Earth was originally produced. Most of them ultimately have cosmic origins. Some elements were created with the birth of the universe, while others were made during the lives or deaths of stars. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will help us understand the cosmic era when stars first began forming. The mission will help scientists learn more about how elements were created and distributed throughout galaxies.The related Tumblr post is here. ||

NASA Scientific Visualization Studio
Jan 28, 2025 at 7:27pmWeb
Show threadCorey S PowellJan 29, 2025

New findings from JWST bolster the case that a lot of the heavy elements in the universe (including most of the gold on Earth) formed during collisions between neutron stars.

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/jwst-colliding-neutron-star/

JWST shocks the world with colliding neutron star discovery

From LIGO, there weren't enough neutron star-neutron star mergers to account for our heavy elements. With a JWST surprise, maybe they can.

Big Think
Show threadDaedaleanJan 28, 2025
@coreyspowell cool!
Show threadPaul HouleJan 28, 2025
@coreyspowell I thought they discovered plutonium in New Hampshire pitchblende because of U238 getting the occasional neutron; did they see Pu in the spectrum of some astrophysical object? I can't see very much getting here from a neutron star collision
Show threadpubliusJan 28, 2025

@UP8 @coreyspowell

Plutonium-244 has a long enough half-life that it has been found in cosmic dust, generally thought to be from supernova remnants. It's been used in attempts to determine the chronology of seabed sediment deposition. As far as practical chemistry is concerned, however, it's strictly a man-made element.

Show threadEve, Go Listen to Dead Channel SkyJan 28, 2025
@coreyspowell Most of these are just "The Big Bang, but with extra steps"
Show threadCorey S PowellJan 28, 2025

@EveOfTheFuture

At some level, that describes all of us!

Show thread𝟜𝟚𝟘 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝟿𝟻Mar 1, 2025
@coreyspowell @EveOfTheFuture True.
Show threadJan KatinsJan 28, 2025
@coreyspowell So at least three stars died to give life to me...?
Show threadMike Perham Jan 28, 2025
@coreyspowell Huh, I wonder how does “merging neutron stars" lead to further elements. Shouldn't it form a black hole?
Show threadCorey S PowellJan 28, 2025

@getajobmike

A neutron star merger produces a black hole, but also a significant amount of ejected matter. We know that a lot of stuff must be shot out because astronomers can see radiation from this material, which is observed as a kilonova.

See, eg: https://www.psu.edu/news/eberly-college-science/story/merging-neutron-stars-unfolding-story-kilonova-told-x-rays

Merging neutron stars: The unfolding story of a kilonova told in X-rays | Penn State University

Astronomers may have detected a kilonova — a powerful event that results when two neutron stars merge — in an event called GW170817. Several years after its first detection, the event has continued to emit X-rays that were detected with NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and analyzed by an international team including Penn State scientists.

Show threadMike Perham Jan 29, 2025
@coreyspowell never heard of “kilonova”, thank you! And what a fantastic image, almost looks like an artist’s conception.
Show threadGene BoggsJan 28, 2025
@coreyspowell I'm adding this to my #Perl periodic table API list of element properties. :)
Show threadJames 🦉 #FBPE 🇪🇺Jan 28, 2025
@coreyspowell This is great!
Show threadJake S.Jan 28, 2025

@coreyspowell
Stardust we are
Close to divine
Stardust we are
See how we shine

https://youtu.be/kbwU2gqPfjk?si=TLf6a5-U_u8dli_n

Stardust We Are

YouTube
Show threadnixCraft 🐧Jan 28, 2025
@coreyspowell wow beautiful 🤩 thank you for sharing this one
Show threadPalkyJan 28, 2025
@coreyspowell That's a great piece of work. Thanks for posting.
Show threadJohn-Mark GurneyJan 29, 2025
@coreyspowell With this graphic, I just realized that over half that atoms (by count, not by weight) that make you up are not star dust, but from the big bang (hydrogen). (~50% water by weight, 2/3rds of that is hydrogen, remaining 50% is unlikely to match the same number of oxygen atoms)
Show threadkkellerJan 29, 2025
@coreyspowell how long till they're forced to remove this graphic
Show threadDark Phoenix 🇺🇦🇨🇦🇬🇱🇵🇦🇵🇸🏳️‍🌈Jan 29, 2025
@coreyspowell cool!
Show threadIanJan 29, 2025
@coreyspowell way cool!
Show threadOskar im KellerJan 29, 2025
@coreyspowell
👀 @Fischblog
Show threadXennyGJan 29, 2025
@coreyspowell Awesome information! This is a great complement to the documentary “Journey of the Universe.”
Show threadJustin DerrickJan 29, 2025

@coreyspowell Wait - isn’t Helium made in active stars? The result of Hydrogen fusion?

Or does this indicate that most of the universe’s helium came in the period after the Big Bang, and what is being produced now is less than that? (An equally mind boggling idea…)

Show threadThe GrueJan 29, 2025
@coreyspowell @nicolas_woehrl 👀
Show threadkætJan 29, 2025
@coreyspowell Beryllium and Boron: "don't mind us, we're just happy to be here".
Show threadAlexander KnochelJan 29, 2025
@coreyspowell I'm torn about the Pu... ok, so it's being made there too, but the Pu on earth, not really?
Show threadSearingTruthJan 30, 2025

@coreyspowell

"That we are not together.

That is the greatest lie ever told."
SearingTruth

Show threadArcturax 🦇Jan 31, 2025

@coreyspowell found it interesting that low mass stars make some heavier stuff. Apparently these are made by the s-process slow neutron capture over time. A little is also made by neutron star collisions.

Googles "AI" results jump to the conclusion most are made by neutron star collisions which is wrong and a showcase of how AI can give wrong answers based on bias in its data collection.

Show threadDelocalizedDannyFeb 5, 2025
@coreyspowell cool. This is definitely one to put up in my office ...as a physicist in a chemistry department this is just perfect. 🥳
Show threadमेंथीFeb 17, 2025

@coreyspowell I only recently learned about Hydrogen (by number of atoms, the majority of our bodies!) from Katie Mack's podcast on Crash Course.

It's kind of obvious when you think about it - H is the ingredient not the product of star reactions - but I'd never really stopped to think about that.

https://pod.link/1740594155

Crash Course Pods: The Universe

Dr. Katie Mack, a theoretical astrophysicist, walks #1 New York Times bestselling author John Green through the history of the entire universe - including the parts that haven’t been written yet.

Show threadFish Id Wardrobe ⁂Mar 3, 2025
@coreyspowell I wonder if this gives us any clue which elements might be rare on most planets but more common here, or vice versa.