Phosphorus, a non-metal element essential for life and found in bones, nervous tissues, and cell cytoplasm, has now been found in the cosmic residue of a supernova. The research was led by Bon-Chul Koo of Seoul National University, but Dae-Sik Moon, a University of Toronto astronomer, is the co-author of a paper on the discovery which will be published in the journal Science. The research was partially funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
The supernova remnant Cassiopeia A was detected by a spectrograph at the California Institute of Technology. This supernova leftover was the first amount detected where it was clear that the phosphorus had originated from within the supernova. It has now been discovered that the abundance of phosphorus in the remains of a supernova is a hundredfold in comparison to any other part of the galaxy. These massive exploding stars behave as a sort of cooker, and produce phosphorus as part of their explosion. Phosphorus — along with nitrogen, carbon, oxygen and sulphur — are created by supernovae and are spread out throughout the universe. They integrate with other stars, planets, and even humans.
With files from CBC News and Business Standard
