I get that all of the elements that make us are from stars but I just can’t wrap my head around how I am made of star dust… is this just a broader way of looking at the creation of elements in the periodic table or am I literally made of star dust.
Sorry if this was a stupid question!
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In the early universe, shortly after the big bang, there was primarily only light gaseous elements like hydrogen atoms. These atoms came together through gravity and eventually ignited the first stars through fusing together. When two hydrogen atoms fuse they turn into helium. When two helium atoms fuse together they become nitrogen. This continues all the way down the periodic table until you get to heavier elements like calcium and iron.
Eventually, these first stars that have been fusing atoms together into heavier and heavier elements go supernova, exploding and spreading these heavier elements accross the universe. This new mix of available elements reformed into planets, rich with the elements necessary to form life.
So the atoms that make up the elements in your body were fused together by the first stars that came into existence when our universe was born.
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