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Birth of stars:
Clouds of gas collect
And form stars.
Young hot stars still with clouds of gas surrounding
During Explosion
After Explosion
Death of a Star
Supernova 1987A Explodes
170,000 Years ago a star explodes in a small nearby galaxy
known as the Large Magellanic Cloud that lies just beyond the
Milky Way. The star, known in modern times as Sanduleak 69202, was a blue supergiant 25 times more massive than the Sun.
Such explosions distribute all the common elements such as
Oxygen, Carbon, Nitrogen, Calcium and Iron into interstellar
space where they enrich clouds of Hydrogen and Helium that
are about to form new stars. They also create the heavier
elements (such as gold, silver, lead, and uranium) and distribute
these as well. Their remnants generate the cosmic rays which
lead to mutation and evolution in living cells. These
supernovae, then, are key to the evolution of the Universe and
to life itself.
What it looks like today (170,008 years ago)
The Andromeda Galaxy 2Million LY away
Is there life out there?
Consider the possibilities…
The Big Bang
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The Birth of the Universe
About 15 bya
All matter and energy was created
Stars and galaxies are still flying out
from the explosion (Doppler Red
shift)
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First the universe was created
Then it separated into galaxies
Then the galaxies formed
separate stars
The stars formed their own solar
systems
Where do we go from here?