Glass is alien material!

Your window glass or glass of water is derived from dead mountains, belonging to an ancient supernova.

The team led by astronomer Jeonghee Rho, from the SETI Institute (California - USA) has captured the trace of silica - the chemical compound that makes glass - in two supernovae called Cassiopeia A and G54 .

An ancient star died, turned into a supernova and left a glass relic for Earth - (photo: BBC)

They used data from NASA's Spitzer space telescope, studying the wavelength of light that these supernovae emitted to decode the chemical composition of celestial materials. Subsequently, data from the European Agency's Herschel Space Observatory (ESA) estimated the amount of silica produced by a supernova.

The supernova, which is a star in its final boom before it dies. During that boom period, supernova releases materials once stored by the star while "alive".

The team of scientists turned back time and concluded that millions of years ago, an ancient supernova exploded in the same way, tearing mountains that hid lots of its silica . This silica blends with cosmic dust, clinging to the objects around it, spreading everywhere by meteorites.

One of the planets is fortunate to have that "relic" silica that is Earth. Thanks to that, we have glass to use. The research steps show that when "alive" , the supernova is a giant red star.

It is estimated that silica accounts for about 60% of the Earth's crust, found in the universe and in older meteorites than the Solar System.

In addition, the horrific explosion in the form of a supernova can merge several atoms together, creating heavy elements like sulfur, calcium and silicon.

The research has just been published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.