Advertise on podcast: Cosmic Fossils

You’ve probably heard that **we’re made of stardust**. But what does that actually mean, and which parts of us really came from stars? In this episode of *Cosmic Fossils*, we go inside a massive star and follow its life all the way to the end: from hydrogen and helium burning, through the creation of carbon and heavier elements, to the iron core that ultimately triggers its collapse. We’ll talk about the famous **B²FH paper**, Margaret Burbidge and the origins of stellar nucleosynthesis, the Hoyle resonance, why fusion stops releasing energy at iron, and what happens in the final second before a massive star explodes. And then we come back to us: the **oxygen you breathe, the calcium in your bones, and the iron in your blood**. Where were they actually made? Because “we are made of stardust” is beautiful, but the real story is even more interesting. ✨ *Cosmic Fossils* is a series about stars, their remnants, and what they can tell us about the history of the Universe. Have the skill but not the path into research? Rakiura puts you in a working lab, on a real problem picked by someone who knows what's tractable, with a group around you. Apply → https://www.rakiura.co

Have the skill but not the path into research? Rakiura puts you in a working lab, on a real problem picked by someone who knows what's tractable, with a group around you. Apply → https://www.rakiura.co

Welcome to Cosmic Fossils. Floor Broekgaarden introduces gravitational-wave paleontology: using black holes as cosmic fossils to reconstruct the lives, deaths, and cosmic role of massive stars, the dinosaurs of our Universe. Have the skill but not the path into research? Rakiura puts you in a working lab, on a real problem picked by someone who knows what's tractable, with a group around you. Apply → https://www.rakiura.co