Stardust

Life ain't easy

Being a Stardust.

The travel is far

And humans are ungrateful.

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Anybody else out there but me who looks up in the sky and begins a neverending tangent of wonders?

As for me, two women trigger my love for the stars: Sara Bareilles and Michelle Thaller. Sara triggers how I feel and Michelle triggers how I think.

2013 marked a real struggle in my life. At the same time, Sara Bareilles released one of her most amazing album called The Blessed Unrest. Every song in there speaks to every fiber of my being but Casseopia is my most favorite. It tells of a star feeling the loneliness of the vast, empty space. She dreamed of being in love - of her every atom bursting and creating a supernova. Eventually, another star came too close and her dream of being stardust came to life.

2020 has gotten me a lot more obsessed with documentaries, particularly the Sci-Fi Network's How The Universe Is Made. And the way Michelle Thaller interprets the complexity of the universe into an exciting feeling is - safe to say - magical.

Attempting to remove the intricacy of science, stardust is the building block of life in the universe. A star compresses matters into heavier objects until it collapses in its own gravity. Hydrogen fuses into Helium; Helium into Carbon; Carbon into Oxygen; into Neon; into Magnesium; then Silicon; then Iron.

The death of a massive star can produce a Neutron Star. One of my favorites, these stars are so dense, they're arguably the heaviest objects in the universe. And when two of them collide and explode, they're not only one of the brightest lights out there but they scatter precious elements across the universe: Gold, Platinum, Uranium; even Plutonium.

These clouds of dust are pushed out by force as far as the edge of our observable universe. They are the specks of dust that formed planets; the Earth; you and I. That Calcium in your bone came from the dust from an explosion of a massive star. Every atom of iron in your blood must have come from many different stars that have already exploded.

Knowing these facts allows me to truly appreciate Sara's song, Chasing The Sun from the same album. The most impactful lines in this song go like this:

So how do we do it

With just words and just music

Capture the feeling

That my Earth is somebody's ceiling?

It doesn't really say much about stardust but this curious question has a phenomenal amount of feeling attached to it. Looking back, Michelle Thaller would explain that the atoms on your left hand were from a different star than the atoms on your right hand. And she goes onto say that we practically are made out of stardust. Her words give me the same chills I feel when I listen to Sara Bareilles talk about - pretty much - every aspect of my life in her album.

I'm glad that we're made of stardust. I love the idea that I probably sparkle in different telescopic spectra.

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