The Sun's Red Dwarf Neighbors Provide Clues to Origins of Carbon and Oxygen
Carolyn Collins Petersen
We live near a fusion reactor in space that provides all our heat and light. That reactor is also responsible for the creation of various elements heavier than hydrogen, and that's true of all stars. So, how do we know that stars are element generators? Many clues lie hidden in stellar spectra, since they contain fingerprints of various elements cooked up by the stars.
Hints about the creation of carbon and oxygen in particular lay hidden for years in a data set taken in a search for planets...