APOD: 2026 September 14 – Where Your Elements Came From
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APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 September 14 –… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. Where Your Elements […]
APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Explanation: The hydrogen in your body and 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.
APOD’s main NASA site is moving : From apod.nasa.gov to science.nasa.gov/apod Tomorrow’s picture: Sun triple
Yesterday’s Image APOD: 2026 September 13 – Comet NEOWISE Rising over the Adriatic Sea