Lots of people know that human beings are made up of microscopic cells. These cells contain DNA, which is arranged in a double helix formation that looks like a spiral and carries genetic information. The average adult is also comprised of roughly 50-65% water, and we only need to look in the mirror to remember that we are made of  eyes, hair, teeth, bones and blood. But where do all of these things come from?

A shocking truth to discover is that humans are, in truth, made up of stardust. While this makes us sound like magical beings- possibly that we are hiding hidden powers and maybe even that we can glow in the dark- we are not alone, in being made of the remnants of stars.  Everything there is, everything that lives on Planet Earth and even the Earth itself, is all made up of stardust.

This is because, when the Big Bang happened, billions upon billions of years ago, the only things that existed were the least heavy elements in the periodic table- mostly hydrogen and helium, which formed the first stars.

These first stars burned through their energy supply of hydrogen and helium, and in the process created some elements which were slightly heavier than hydrogen and helium. When they went supernova at the end of their “lifetimes”, these elements were released into the rest of the Universe.

 This gave way to the next generation of stars, and then the generations after. Each generation created heavier and heavier elements, eventually creating almost the entire periodic table. These elements, (such as calcium and carbon and nitrogen and tens more) are everywhere in today’s life- in the planet, in our food and even within us, as humans. We are made up of the remnants of stars.