Where did life on Earth come from?
The answer lies in the stars, which have lives
of their own.
Stars are responsible for the materials that
form us and everything around us...
...including these two people.
Welcome back to Think Tank!
Today's topic is "The Supernova."
Or: "When Stars Go Boom!"
Sure, why not.
Everything set with the Thought Visualizer?
All systems go!
Let's do a quick check.
Think of a planet.
What kind of planet?
It doesn't matter!
Okay, fine: think of something that's NOT
a planet!
Perfect.
Let's get started.
During most of their lives, stars shine by
processing fuel.
But what happens when they exhaust their fuel
after millions of years or longer?
A star that is many times more massive than
our Sun ends its life in a spectacular explosion
called a supernova:
an explosion so powerful that, for a brief
period, it can generate more light than an
entire galaxy containing billions of stars.
A supernova is more than an impressive cosmic
light show.
It is critical in enabling life as we know
it to exist.
Like dinosaurs!
Yes, like dinosaurs.
And butterflies!
Let's not name every animal.
During a star's life, nuclear fusion turns
lighter elements like hydrogen and helium
into more complex heavier elements like oxygen
and carbon, and eventually iron at its core.
When the iron core becomes too massive, it
implodes and collapses into itself.
The rest of the star follows suit, reaching
incredible pressures and temperatures.
At this stage, heavier elements are formed.
All of this compressed material then rebounds
into an explosion that we call a supernova.
Elements like copper, nickel, and iron are
hurled into space at millions of miles per hour.
Iron is VERY useful!
That is a brilliant insight.
Supernova events are responsible for producing
most of the valuable elements that we use
on Earth.
By distributing them into space, a supernova
allows the ingredients necessary for life
to be swept up & recycled into the raw material
for future stars and planets.
So you can think of a supernova as a unique
factory that also provides a delivery service.
Like a pizza company that makes deliveries
by exploding!
Our Solar System, including the Earth, owes
its chemical make-up to probably several generations
of stars that went supernova.
They ultimately produced the right mixture
of elements that allowed life on our planet,
including humans, to form and thrive.
Humans like us.
That's our show!
Special thanks to NASA's observatories in
space as they continue to observe supernovae,
helping us discover our origins.
And also special thanks to ME,
who I think it's fair to say...
...did a STELLAR job.
Thank you for watching!
We'll see you next time.
