| Palaeos: | |
The Stelliferous Era |
| COSMOS | Formation of the Elements |
| Page Back | Unit Up: Cosmos home | Unit Home | Cosmic Evolution | Page Next: Glossary |
| Unit Back: The Primordial Era | Page Down (none) | Unit Down (none) | References (none) | Unit Next: The Chaotian Eon |
|
Time
Cosmological timescale The Primordial Era The Stelliferous Era Geological timescale |
Cosmos Main Page
The Early Stelliferous Era Glossary References |
The formation of the elements was a two stage process. First there were the light atomic nuclei (mostly Hydrogen and Helium) formed during the very early universe nucleosynthesis, between about 3 and 20 minutes after the Big Bang. Beginning around 10 gigayears ago, these nuclei were fused inside stars form the other elements within stars. Exploding supernovas at least 8 times more massive than our sun enabled the formation of heavier nuclei, including carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, calcium, and all the way up to very heavy elements such as iron, gold, and so on. (modified from Epic of Evolution Timeline - Connie Barlow and Michael Dowd). See Formation of the High Mass Elements (What Happens Inside a Star) for a more detailed account
| Page Back | Page Top | Unit Home | Page Next: Glossary |
content by Wikipedia. Edited RFVS111026
