Most of the atoms in your body left the Milky Way on a 'cosmic conveyor belt' long before you were born, new study reveals

On a cosmic "conveyor belt" before returning to our galaxy, shortly before the formation of our solar system, a new study suggests.

These explosions, in addition to expelling these newly formed materials into the vastness of interstellar space. They then form enormous clouds that come together, eventually condensing into new stars surrounded by other celestial bodies, such as planets, moons, asteroids, comets – including, in Earth's instance, humanity.

For years, experts believed that material ejected by exploding stars gradually moved through intergalactic space before being reprocessed into new star systems. Nevertheless, in 2011, researchers found that some atoms, including oxygen, iron and other heavy elements, are expelled from their home galaxy by supernovae and get swept up in enormous cosmic flows known as the circumgalactic medium. These atoms finally fall back into their original galaxy, including our own Milky Way, and get incorporated into new material.

Atoms can also be recycled through these cosmic currents. Scientists have previously assumed this was improbable, believing that carbon atoms were too light to be ejected from the galaxy. The team also demonstrated that carbon is one of the most common elements within these intergalactic structures.

Related: Approximately how many atoms are contained within the vast expanse of the observable cosmos?

In fact, many of the elements in our bodies, including oxygen and iron, are found in abundance in the universe, and it is likely that these elements have also been part of other stars and galaxies beyond the Milky Way.

The affair of carbon is influenced as it passes through the interstellar medium of various star-forming galaxies. This also showed that, in some instances, carbon is discovered up to 400,000 light-years outside its native galaxy – a distance approximately four times broader than the Milky Way.

Recycling star stuff

The study into the circumstellar medium has revealed that it is a significant factor in how galaxies recycle the products of star formation.

A University of Washington doctoral candidate stated this.

The reason why identifying what recyclable elements are taken in by the interstellar space is significant, as it will allow scientists to pinpoint the exact ways in which matter is redistributed and reshaped within the cosmos. The galaxy's currents presumably allow for persistent star formation, and so carry substantial weight in the evolution of galaxies.

"If you can maintain the cycle of expelling and re-absorbing material, then, in theory, you should have a sufficient supply of fuel to sustain star formation," Garza explained. Consequently, understanding how these currents ultimately decline and cease will be crucial in determining how galaxies reach the end of their life cycle, she emphasised.

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