Astroarcheology – The Oldest Stars

A few hundred million years after the big bang, the first stars formed.  We aren’t exactly sure how, but we do know that they contained Hydrogen, Helium, and a little bit of Lithium.  These were the only elements in the entire universe at the time.  Within these first stars, the fusion of heavier elements began.  Oxygen, Nitrogen, Carbon, Iron, and all the other elements that make up everything we know formed Billions of years ago in these first stars and in their progenitors.  It was a slow process to produce these elements and seed them throughout the cosmos, but over...

Happy Valentine’s Day from the Universe!

First of all, in case you didn’t know, according to a few sources, today is not just Valentine’s day, but also: Impotence Day, Condom day, Singles Awareness Day, Ferris Wheel Day, Congenital Heart Disease Day, and Pet Theft Awareness Day. And on to the Astronomy!  A classic favourite would be the Heart Nebula. Located 7,500 light years away in the constellation Cassiopeia, this heart-shaped HII emission nebula is located along the plane of the Milky Way galaxy.  HII regions like this one are used to probe the massive star formation in a galaxy.  This is because massive O and B...