New Delhi, India

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The origin of life in the universe has always remained shrouded in mystery. Now, in a recent find, astronomers have stumbled upon an ancient star explosion which may have birthed life in the cosmos.

The key element for the origin of life is phosphorus which is important for the creation of DNA, which is the blueprint of all life.

The astronomers are now trying to study how the crucial element came into existence. A new theory has now proposed that a particular stellar explosion, called “ONe novae” can be phosphorus' primary source in the universe.

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How life came into existence with the Big Bang?

At the inception of the universe, the lightest element - hydrogen - was generated by the Big Bang.

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Heavier elements like helium are created from fiery cores of stars where there is intense pressure and heat fuses hydrogen atoms. The process continues and elements like oxygen and carbon are created.

The fuel of the stars is eventually exhausted by these stellar furnaces which leads to cataclysmic explosions like novae and supernovae. 

Such events lead to the dispersal of the newly forged elements into the cosmos which enriches the interstellar medium by creating blocks for planets, asteroids, and eventually, life.

How ONe novae lead to the production of phosphorus and eventually life?

ONe novae are a category of stellar explosions which occur in white dwarf stars having a high composition of oxygen, neon, and magnesium.

These white dwarfs take matter from a companion star and when the accumulated material reaches the critical stage, it leads to a runaway thermonuclear reaction.

The explosive event releases a significant amount of stellar material which includes newly synthesised elements that surround the interstellar space.

Astronomers Kenji Bekki and Takuji Tsujimoto have reached a hypothesis which suggests that these ONe novae can be the primarily mechanism which is responsible for the production and distribution of phosphorus, which is an important element for life.

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“A ONe nova occurs when matter builds up on the surface of an oxygen-neon-magnesium rich white dwarf star and is heated to the point to ignite explosive run-away nuclear fusion,” Tsujimoto explained.

According to Bekki and Tsujimoto’s model, the highest point was reached by ONe novae approximately 8 billion years ago.

The peak in ONe novae activity may have led to phosphorus' major enrichment in the interstellar medium.

Since our solar system was formed nearly 4.6 billion years ago, the timeline shows that phosphorus, which is a crucial element for life, would have been in abundance in the universe and would have been accessible during the early stages of the formation of Earth. 

The availability of phosphorus may have led to a pivotal role in the evolution and emergence of life on Earth.

(With inputs from agencies)