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Most of the atoms in your torso likely spent million of year circling theMilky Wayon a cosmic " conveyor belt " before give to our galaxy prior to thesolar scheme ’s macrocosm , a Modern subject field suggests .
Most chemical element in the existence , except for atomic number 1 and helium ( and a few other weird exception ) , were mold by stars , either throughnuclear fusiondeep within their cores or during gigantic stellar explosions , known assupernovas . These explosions also circularize the newly forged materials into interstellar space . The issue then forms giant swarm that finally digest into new stars skirt by other objects , such as planets , moon , asteroid , comet — and in Earth ’s pillow slip , the great unwashed .
Many of the atoms in the Milky Way, including the carbon in your body, have taken a round-trip journey through intergalactic space, new research suggests.
For decennium , scientist assumed that issue expel by detonate hotshot slowly drift through interstellar distance before reforming into fresh mavin system . However , in 2011 , scientists discover that some atoms , including O , branding iron and other heavier elements , can be throw out from their host galax by supernova and get caught up in giant cosmic electric current , known as the circumgalactic medium . These atoms finally fall back into their original galaxy , include theMilky Way , and get turned into novel stuff .
In a new field of study , published Dec. 27 , 2024 in the journalThe Astrophysical Journal Letters , researcher hit the books the circumstellar average around remote galaxies have exhibit for the first time thatcarbonatoms can also be recycle via these cosmic stream . Scientists antecedently accept this was unlikely , consider that carbon copy atoms are too light to be rout out from the galax . The team also showed that carbon copy is one of the most abundant elements within these extragalactic structures .
Related : How many particle are in the evident macrocosm ?
All star-forming galaxies are believed to have a circumgalactic medium that extends well into interstellar space.
This mean that " the same carbon in our body most in all probability expend a significant amount of time outside of the wandflower , " study co - authorJessica Werk , an astrophysicist at the University of Washington , said in astatement . Given that other abundant molecule within human bodies , such as oxygen and iron , are also know to move in the circumstellar mass medium , it is likely that a majority of the particle in most citizenry ’s bodies have spend time outside the Milky Way .
The researchers made the discovery using data point from the Hubble telescope ’s Cosmic Origins Spectrograph , which measure how light from distant quasars ( bright glowing object powered by activeblack holes ) is affected as it spend through the circumstellar mediums of different star - forming Galax urceolata . This also revealed that , in some cases , C can be obtain up to 400,000 light - year outside its master of ceremonies galaxy — a length around four time wide-cut than the Milky Way .
Recycling star stuff
The circumstellar medium is a relatively fresh construct in astrophysics , and the new subject field reassert that it plays a vital role in how galaxies recycle their lead - fake materials .
" Think of the circumgalactic mass medium as a giant gear place : It is always push material out and pull it back in , " study co - authorSamantha Garza , a doctorial candidate at the University of Washington , pronounce in the statement .
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Understanding which ingredient can be reprocess by the circumstellar medium is important because it will aid researchers mould out exactly how matter gets distributed and reformed throughout the universe . The cosmic current also likely enable galaxies to continually shape newfangled stars , meaning they play a key part in astronomic evolution .
" If you could keep the cycle going — push material out and perpetrate it back in — then theoretically you have enough fuel to keep star constitution going , " Garza tell . Therefore , learning how these stream eventually slow up down and peter out out will be a key tool in understanding how galaxies eventually die , she added .
