We are all dead stars
A neutron star is the dense, collapsed core of a massive star that exploded as a supernova. The neutron star contains about a Sun's worth of mass packed in a sphere the size of a large city.
NASA/Dana Berry
Every atom in our bodies was processed inside the body of an ancient star. In fact, the iron in our blood connects us to one of the most violent acts in the universe — the death of a star in a supernova explosion.
But the stars will all burn out someday. "That's not something we have any doubt about," says NASA astronomer Dr. Michelle Thaller. You can imagine this time in the universe's history as a star-powered Eden. "I wonder if people will have myths about the days when stars rained down free sunlight and free energy," Thaller says.
Flora Lichtman of The Really Big Questions (TRBQ) and Katherine Wells of The Atlantic collaborated on this video. Listen to TRBQ’s one-hour audio documentary, What Is a Good Death?
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