Neil deGrasse Tyson - The Most Astounding Fact

I've posted about Neil deGrasse Tyson's most astounding fact before, but it's probably my most favorite video ever...and it's relevant to today's video...so I'm posting it again.



A while back I posted a graphic showing where each element came from in our universe.

Today I'm posting an updated graphic because we keep learning new stuff about the universe and the element contained therein.

It turns out that scientists observed (original publication & popular translation) a couple of neutron stars collide this past year (or rather they collided like 130 million years ago, but we just got to observe it this past year.)


So, now that graphic...

Source - https://fermi.gsfc.nasa.gov/fermi10/fridays/08172018.html

Astronomy Picture of the Day - Where your elements come from

I've posted about "The Most Astounding Fact" before, and this comes back to that.

Everything - and I mean everything - was made in a star somewhere. Every atom in you. Every atom in your cheeseburger. Every atom in the tofu that makes up your fake cheeseburger.

We are stardust. We are golden.

Source - NASA

The Most Astounding Fact

I have nothing to add that isn't better said by NdGT in this video.

The fact that every atom in my body - perhaps save for a few hydrogen atoms - was born in a distant star and that anything heavier than iron was born when a star went superova is just astounding.

As NdGT's scientific predecessor said, "we are made of star stuff."