In the beginning….and somewhat later

Abstract

The Big Bang, which initiated the Universe more than 13.5 billion years ago, produced all the matter there is. It was almost entirely hydrogen and helium, with a tiny fraction of lithium and beryllium. There was no carbon, nitrogen or oxygen at first. Nuclear fusion, the power source of stars, resulted first in the production of more helium, but this was followed by further fusion to produce the more massive elements up to iron. Enormous explosions of dying massive stars produced even heavier elements, and importantly, blasted a complete array of heavy elements into space, where the next generation of stars was formed, but this time surrounded by clouds of solid particles, the raw material from which planets formed.