Exploding stars make key ingredient in sand, glass
Monday, November 19, 2018 - 09:10
in Astronomy & Space
We are all, quite literally, made of star dust. Many of the chemicals that compose our planet and our bodies were formed directly by stars. Now, a new study using observations by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope reports for the first time that silica—one of the most common minerals found on Earth—is formed when massive stars explode.