Forbes

Ask Ethan: Can Normal Stars Make Elements Heavier (And Less Stable) Than Iron?

There are some 90+ elements of the periodic table that occur naturally in the Universe, but of them all, iron is the most stable. If you fuse lighter elements together to get closer to iron, you gain ...
Astronomy

My astronomy book reads, “Heavy-element fusion in massive stars ends with iron.” How are elements heavier than iron in the periodic table created?

In an environment packed with excess energy (like a supernova), a small fraction of this energy may be used to bind free neutrons to iron atoms. One of the neutrons in the nucleus decays (or changes) ...
Astronomy

Ask Astro: How do stars make elements heavier than iron?

A: The lightest elements in the universe — hydrogen, helium, and a little lithium — were born shortly after the Big Bang. The heavier elements, up to iron, were forged later, in the hearts of stars ...
PBS

Living Elements: Iron

This post is the second in a three-part series on how living creatures use the elements of the periodic table. Read the first post here, and learn more about the elements on NOVA's two-hour special, ...