Ion cross ping.
Nifty.
I’ve been wondering where I put that pesky ionized iron line.
Thanks guys.
We are the stuff of stars.
Eventually the star, filled with iron, stops runnning sufficient fusion reactions to keep it expanded. It then collapses. The jump in pressure kicks off fusion reactions that cause an explosion, a supernova. Atoms heavier than iron are formed in that explosion (lots of energy for a short time, no need to be self-sustaining) and scattered about. Eventually those heavy elements (to an astronomer, "metal" = any element heavier than hydrogen) condense into lumps that may in turn coalesce into planets.
Joni Mitchell and Carl Sagan were right - we all are made of star dust.
You're bound to see some iron in lots of stars, but you don't want to see a lot in the one you're orbiting.
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