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We are dead stars

4 minutes

We are born of supernovas – our spectacular and totally ordinary origin story

You might have heard that we are made of ‘star stuff’, but what exactly does that mean? In this collaboration between The Atlantic and the podcast TRBQ (The Really Big Questions), the NASA astronomer Michelle Thaller explains how every atom in the human body – and, indeed, every object in the Universe that is composed of anything more complex than hydrogen and helium atoms – can be traced back to the life cycle of a star.

Producer: Flora Lichtman, Katherine Wells

Websites: Soundvision Productions, TRBQ

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Support Aeon

Become a Friend for $5 a month or Make a one-off donation

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Aeon is a registered charity committed to the spread of knowledge. Our mission is to create a sanctuary online for serious thinking.
But we can’t do it without you.

Aeon is a registered charity committed to the spread of knowledge and a cosmopolitan worldview.
But we can’t do it without you.

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