Brian Hsu

“We are stardust brought to life, then empowered by the universe to figure itself out — and we have only just begun.” - Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Do you ever wonder where we come from? All life on Earth is — quite literally — reincarnated stardust. The atoms that make up you and me were once part of a massive star that lived fast and died young. As its swan song, the star put on a cosmic fireworks show bright enough to illuminate the entire night sky, dispersing precious elements like carbon and oxygen throughout the Universe. I study these massive stars and their explosive deaths — calledsupernovae — in the hope of connecting us to our most primordial and authentic origin.