Mario Livio: Humans, Stars, and the Big Bang

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: Saving Our Species From Another Mass Extinction Mario Livio Become a fan   Humans, Stars, and the Big Bang 0 0 0 0 Posted: 07/05/2013 8:00 AM Updated: 07/05/2013

Click here to read an original op-ed from the TED speaker who inspired this post and watch the TEDTalk below.

In his famous book The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, Charles Darwin insightfully concluded: "We thus learn that man is descended from a hairy, tailed quadruped, probably arboreal in its habits and an inhabitant of the Old World. This creature, if its whole structure had been examined by a naturalist, would have been classed among the Quadrumana [primates with four 'hands,' such as apes], as surely as the still more ancient progenitor of the Old and New World monkeys." These bold ideas have inspired the tireless efforts by many members of the Leakey family to search for and discover fossil hominids in Africa.

But, what about the most fundamental building blocks of life itself? Where did the atoms of hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, phosphorus, and iron (all essential for life) come from? When Joni Mitchell sang "We are stardust," she was poetically giving the correct answer to this question.

In a monumental paper published in 1957, astrophysicists Geoffrey and Margaret Burbidge, Willy Fowler and Fred Hoyle proposed that most of the chemical elements were synthesized from hydrogen and helium in the nuclear furnaces at the centers of stars. Hoyle, in particular, explained how during the process of stellar evolution, stars continuously battle against gravity. In the absence of a force to oppose gravity's attraction, stars would have simply collapsed to their centers. By 'igniting' nuclear fusion reactions in their cores, stars generate extremely high pressures that support them against their own weight. After each nuclear fuel is consumed (first hydrogen fuses into helium, then helium into carbon, carbon into oxygen, and so on), gravity causes the core to contract, thereby increasing the temperature and initiating the next nuclear reaction. This way, new elements are synthesized all the way up to iron--the most stable nucleus. Depending on the initial mass of the star, its outer layers are ejected into interstellar space either through a relatively gentle process known as a planetary nebula (if the star's mass is less than about eight times the mass of the Sun; Figure 1), or via a dramatic explosion known as a supernova (if the star is more massive than eight solar masses; Figure 2). Atoms heavier than iron are synthesized during the explosions.

Figure 1. The "Cat's Eye" nebula. Credit: NASA, ESA, HEIC, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA).

All the forged and subsequently ejected elements enrich the interstellar gas from which later generations of stars, planets, and life form. No wonder that the Burbidges, Fowler, and Hoyle started their epoch-making paper with a quote from William Shakespeare's King Lear: "It is the stars, the stars above us, govern our conditions."

And what about hydrogen and helium? As it turned out, Hoyle and his collaborators did not manage to account for the cosmic abundances of the lightest elements (hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, and boron) by forming them inside stars. For those, physicists George Gamow and Ralph Alpher had another brilliant idea -- they formed in the initial, extremely hot and dense state of the universe known as the Big Bang.

The picture that emerges is absolutely amazing. The individual atoms that form the two strands of our DNA may have originated billions of years ago at the centers of different stars. And the hydrogen atoms -- that hold the basic structures of our proteins together -- date all the way back to the Big Bang. This grand scheme for the history of life's ingredients gives a whole new meaning to Darwin's profound pronouncement: "Man with all his noble qualities... still bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin."

Figure 2. The ring around Supernova 1987A. Credit: NASA, ESA, and P. Challis (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics).

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Celebrities On Citi Bikes: Leonardo DiCaprio And More Stars Try Out NYC's New Toy (PHOTOS)

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'Enough Said' Movie Stars James Gandolfini And Julia Louis-Dreyfus As Divorcés

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The trailer for "Enough Said," which features James Gandolfini in his final role before his death in June, hit the web earlier this week and we have to say -- we're excited.

Gandolfini stars as a divorced dad opposite Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who plays a divorced massage therapist and his love interest. However, their courtship hits a bump in the road after Louis-Dreyfus realizes that one of her clients is Gandolfini's ex-wife. Talk about drama!

The film's writer and director, Nicole Holofcener, issued a statement about Gandolfini's performance in the film following his death.

"He played a divorced dad who doted on his daughter and was crazy about Julia's character," Holofcener told The Hollywood Reporter. "He didn't believe he could play a romantic lead, even though everyone on the set thought he was sexy and hilarious. He was charming and self-effacing and incredibly talented. Not only did he pull off playing a leading man, his performance is subtle and moving and very, very lovely."

The film premiers in limited release on Sept. 20. Do you plan to see it? Let us know in the comments!

Check out the trailer above, then click through the slideshow below for other films centered around divorced characters.

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Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep star as estranged Exs in a bitter custody battle over their son. But what makes this Academy-Award winning heartbreaker the gold-standard for divorce flicks, says Tracy, a divorcee I spoke with in New Mexico, is that it gives you hope people are going to come together to do the right thing.

Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn are incandescent in this classic romantic comedy about a divorced couple who are still crazy about each other despite their legal split. One barrier to them working it out: Hepburn’s impending nuptials to another man. Two divorced men in a book group in Northern California explained that watching Grant try to get Hepburn back is a lovely reminder that true love works out in the end.

Robin Williams is winning as an unemployed voice actor whose world is upended when his wife (Sally Field) divorces him, separating him from his three beloved children. In an attempt to spend time with them, he disguises himself as Mrs. Doubtfire—a 60-year-old British housekeeper that Field hires to watch over the brood. A woman I spoke with in Los Angeles compares it to Tootsie (the divorced dad version). Added bonus: it has you rooting for a new kind of happily-ever-after.

Michael Douglas has never been better than as the pot-smoking, writer-blocked, deeply indecisive professor who over one weekend not only has to contend with his wife leaving him, but also with an ultimatum from his married and pregnant lover (the magical Frances McDormand.) Based on the novel by Michael Chabon, Wonder Boys takes a look at what happens when you lose everything. A friend, newly separated, adds that it also helps you find yourself.

Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas are the Roses: a couple who fell in love while bidding on the same antique. Now they are willing to kill each other for it. Too many people to count listed this black comedy as their favorite divorce flick. Sometimes a little fight over a chandelier soothes the soul…

Keep in touch! Check out HuffPost Divorce on Facebook and Twitter.

Child Stars Who Quit Acting

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Maybe these child stars are the smart ones — the ones who escaped Hollywood before their fame trains collided. They're the ones who could offer Amanda Bynes some advice. Before anyone calls these former stars has-beens, consider paying regards to their success at finding stability. Still, we miss you guys! The world isn't the same without Kimmy Gibbler and Ferguson Darling.

Mara Wilson

Signature roles: "Mrs. Doubtfire" (1993), "Miracle on 34th Street" (1994), "Matilda" (1996), "A Simple Wish" (1999)
Current age: 25
What she's up to now: "Here is something no real celebrity will ever tell you: film acting is not very fun," Wilson wrote on her blog in March 2012. The '90s staple says she has no plans to return to acting. Wilson graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 2009 and is now working for nonprofit education group Publicolor.

Andrea Barber

Signature roles: Carry Brady on "Days Of Our Lives" (1982-1986), Kimmy Gibbler on "Full House" (1987-1995)
Current age: 36
What she's up to now: Barber earned an English degree from Whittier College and an M.A. in women's studies from the University of York. She's now married with two children.

Josh Saviano

Signature roles: Paul Joshua Pfeiffer on "The Wonder Years" (1988-1993) and Max Plotkin in the made-for-TV movie "Camp Cucamonga" (1990)
Current age: 37
What he's up to now: Saviano left his wonder years behind in favor of law school. When he's not busy shielding rumors that he's actually Marilyn Manson, Saviano works as an attorney in New York.

Karyn Parsons

Signature roles: Hilary Banks on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (1990-1996), as well as "Major Payne" (1995) and "The Ladies Man" (2000)
Current age: 46
What he's up to now: Parsons has ducked out of the limelight to work on the educational DVD series "Sweet Blackberry." She is currently married to director Alexandre Rockwell, with whom she has two children.

Omri Katz

Signature roles: John Ross Ewing III on "Dallas" (1983-1991), Marshall Teller on "Eerie, Indiana" (1991-1992) Max Dennison in "Hocus Pocus" (1993), Tony Hemingway on "The John Larroquette Show' (1993-1995)
Current age: 37
What he's up to now: Katz has done a magnificent job at totally disappearing from the spotlight in recent years, with the exception of an NSFW short film that turned up on YouTube.

Phoebe Cates

Signature roles: Linda Barrett in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (1982), Kate Beringer in "Gremlins" (1984), Lizzie Cronin in "Drop Dead Fred" (1991)
Current age: 49
What she's up to now: After becoming a staple of '80s teen flicks, Cates left acting behind to focus on raising her children. Since then, she's mostly steered clear of roles, with a couple of exceptions: 2001's "The Anniversary Party," which she did as a favor to best friend Jennifer Jason Leigh, and 2005's "The Squid and the Whale." Cates also owns a boutique on New York City's Upper East Side.

Jonathan Taylor Thomas

Signature roles: Randy Taylor on "Home Improvement" (1991-1998), Ben Archer in "Man of the House" (1995), Jake Wilkinson in "I'll Be Home for Christmas" (1998)
Current age: 31
What he's up to now: Thomas hasn't officially stepped away from acting but has instead dodged the limelight by spending the bulk of the 2000s in school. He studied philosophy and history at Harvard, and in 2010 graduated from Columbia. Thomas has taken on a few minor guest spots on various TV shows like "8 Simple Rules" and "Last Man Standing" (featuring his old "Home Improvement" co-star Tim Allen) but hasn't made any big moves in Hollywood in years.

Ariana Richards

Signature roles: Carol Wetherby in "Prancer" (1990), Lex in "Jurassic Park" (1993)
Current age: 33
What she's up to now: The last major release to feature Richards was 1997's "The Lost World: Jurassic Park." She's starred in a few TV movies since then but has spent most of her time honing her award-winning painting skills.

Lisa Jakub

Signature roles: Lydie in "Mrs. Doubtfire" (1993), Sandra in "Matinee" (1993), Alicia Casse in "Independence Day" (1996)
Current age: 34
What she's up to now: "There must be more to life than premieres and pretending to be other people," Jakub wrote on the blog she started recently, where she revealed her current-day whereabouts. Not wanting to become a "cautionary tale," Jakub left the business at age 22, at which point she had graduated college and wanted to be with her boyfriend instead of continuing down the Hollywood path. She's currently spending her time writing.

Jason Zimbler

Signature roles: Ferguson W. Darling on "Clarissa Explains It All" (1991-1994)
Current age: 35
What he's up to now: Clarissa's know-it-all little brother is now a software designer for HBO. He earned a master's in theater directing from the University of Notre Dame and started a Portland, Ore., troupe that re-imagines classic works.

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