Hydrogen and helium formed shortly after the Big Bang. Stars create elements lighter than iron through nuclear fusion. Supernovae produce elements heavier than iron via the r-process. Neutron star ...

How a planet comes together has implications for whether it captures and retains the volatile elements, including nitrogen, carbon and water, that eventually give rise to life, according to ...

Heavy elements formed, not from supernova explosions, but from more exotic catastrophes.

Elements heavier than iron, such as gold and uranium, are primarily formed through neutron capture processes, specifically the rapid neutron capture process (r-process). The r-process, unlike the ...

The paper details how phosphorus-bearing molecules formed in star-forming regions, and how it may have been delivered to Earth onboard rocky comets during our planet’s infancy. “It is still a ...

The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams will help scientists unlock the inner workings of atomic nuclei and explore how elements formed in the cosmos.

Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory are using the 88-Inch Cyclotron to help steady ...

They're the only three elements in the Universe beyond Helium that aren't made in stars, yet they've somehow found their way to Earth!

Earth is so far the only known planet on which life exists—with liquid water and a stable atmosphere. However, the conditions were not conducive to life when it formed. The gas-dust cloud from which ...