Star Elements of the Human Body – Astronomy Essay

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Carl Sagan is a renowned astronomer who is famous for his quotes on star stuff. Stars are heavenly bodies found in the universe that is made up of stuff also found in human beings since when the solar system was being formed, we all originated from the same matter, and almost every atom we are made of was once part of a star.

The factors that aided in accelerating the rate of mutation and evolution are thus the cosmic rays from the different stars that make up the universe. Carl Sagan believed that all atoms in our bodies were synthesized by the stars. He further stated that we could all be stars either in movies or TVs like he was if we work hard. Stardust refers to particles from outer space which settles on the surface of the earth. This dust contains heavy elements from space which are integrated into our bodies from the atmosphere (Personalhealthfacts.com 2010).

The universe was originally made up of hydrogen and helium, and other atoms were created over a billion years ago in the previous generations of stars that exploded. These atoms are traceable to the core of the stars responsible for their creation since all organic matter comprised of carbon was originally produced from the stars.

Stardust is created from a process known as the Nova. It occurs when bodies in space explode due to the exhaustion of their hydrogen supply. The explosion causes space to be filled with gases that resemble dust made up of different elements. The force of the explosion also creates new and heavy elements that are scattered. The explosion of a massive star is called a supernova (Daniels 68).

Thus, with time, more stars become unstable and explode, releasing their enriched elements across the galaxy, forming the fundamental of human life. The present light elements are converted to a heavy element by stars that are yet to explode. The sun converts hydrogen to produce helium, and when it runs out of hydrogen, it changes helium to carbon and beryllium.

The heavy elements formed burn to form other elements that are heavier. Stars have different reactions due to their varying sizes leading to the formation of different elements that are in existence on our planet from oxygen to iron. These reactions take place under extreme pressures and temperatures of over one million degrees Celsius (Seeds 78).

The components in our bodies that would not have been possible without these explosions are nitrogen in our DNA, calcium in our teeth and bones, and iron in the blood. Most of the human body is comprised of water formed from hydrogen and oxygen, while the body mass is made up of carbon, which is the building unit of organic molecules.

The six main elements in our body in the percentage composition include; oxygen (35%) necessary for cellular energy, carbon (18%), hydrogen (10%) for PH of body fluids, nitrogen (3%) a component of nucleic acids, calcium (1.5%) and phosphorus (1.0%) which contributes to the crystalline structure of our bones. More so, other components are potassium (0.4%) and sulfur (0.3%) for muscle proteins, sodium (0.2%) for water balance, magnesium (0.1%), chlorine (0.2%), iodine (0.1%) and iron (0.1%). There are also trace elements in minute quantities of cobalt, copper, fluorine, and zinc (Physics.org 2014).

Works Cited

Daniels, Diane. Over the Moon. Mustang, Oklahoma: Tate Publishers, 2010. Print.

Personalhealthfacts.com: 2010. Web.

Physics: Are we Really All made from Stardust? 2014. Web.

Seeds, Michael. Foundations of Astronomy. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole, 2007. Print.

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