The role of supernovae in the origins of life

Full Article

PDF

This is the Crab Nebula, the remnant of a supernova explosion that was observed in 1074 by Chinese astronomers. It is 6500 light years away from Earth. While being far away from the Earth, supernovae explosions are an essential part of the formation of life. This is because they have played a part in the formation and distribution of virtually every element that exists in the universe. Only hydrogen, some helium, and some lithium, formed 13.7 billion years ago in the Big Bang, were created independently of supernovae. So what are supernovae and how do they form large elements? The full answer is very complicated, but the simple one is through nuclear fusion.