Where Your Elements Came From

The hydrogen in your body, present in every molecule of water, came from the Big Bang . There are no other appreciable sources of hydrogen in the universe. The carbon in your body was made by nuclear fusion in the interior of stars, as was the oxygen . Much of the iron in your body was made during supernova s of stars that occurred long ago and far away. The gold in your jewelry was likely made from neutron stars during collisions that may have been visible as short-duration gamma-ray bursts or gravitational wave events . Elements like phosphorus and copper are present in our bodies in only small amounts but are essential to the functioning of all known life . The featured periodic table is color coded to indicate humanity 's best guess as to the nuclear origin of all known elements. The sites of nuclear creation of some elements , such as copper , are not really well known and are continuing topics of observational and computational research. Discovery + Outreach: Graduate student research position open for APOD