Humans are made of stardust

11th January 2017

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It is a commonly known myth that people are made of stardust and now a study has confirmed it. The survey conducted on 150,000 stars has revealed that the galaxy and humans share 97% of the same atoms.

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The elements of life on earth, which are usually found towards the centre of the galaxy, can be abbreviated to CHNOPS are carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorous and sulphur.

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The quantities of each element in the stars is measured with a spectrometer. The one used for this is in New Mexico and has been used for the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE). Each element releases a different wavelength light and these are measured to work out the composition of the star.

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Although the elements are the same, the percentages differ between stars and humans. E.g. Humans are 65% oxygen and yet oxygen makes up less than 1% of elements measured in space.

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