Where the elements come from

In the stellar astronomy class I teach, we've been studying the life cycle of stars...from their birth out of clouds of dust and gas to most of their lives in a stable state, to their deaths ranging from just fading to white and black dwarfs or ending as a spectacular supernova explosion.

The bottom line is that every single element in the universe, other than hydrogen and helium, is manufactured in the fiery interior of a star, including the elements you're made of.

Need a lift to your day? Just remind yourself that you're made up of "star stuff"