Life on Earth could not exist without carbon. But carbon and other chemical elements that are heavier than helium and hydrogen are formed after the death of massive stars when they explode in supernovas.. These elements eventually form new stars and planets. Created billions of years ago, carbon became an important component of the Earth, and later it became an integral part of the human body. Astronomers have found that carbon and other heavy chemical elements do not just circle around our Milky Way galaxy in the circumgalactic environment, but return back to the galaxy to become participants in the creation of new objects. The study was published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, writes Interesting Engineering.

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Back in the 50s of the last century, astronomers discovered the first evidence of the existence of a circumgalactic environment, that is, a large gas cloud that surrounds the Milky Way and other galaxies. The circumgalactic medium may extend hundreds of thousands of light years from the galaxy.

In 2011, using the Hubble Space Telescope, scientists first found confirmation of a long-standing theory.. It was then suggested that this medium could act as a conveyor belt that does not redirect the ejected heavy chemical elements back into the galaxy so that new stars and planets are created.

A new study confirms this assumption and shows that there is a huge amount of carbon in the circumgalactic environment, which is constantly moving back into the galaxies. At the same time, scientists have found that in the circumgalactic environment there is not only a lot of carbon, but also oxygen.

Scientists believe that after supernova explosions, many heavy chemical elements fly out of galaxies, but then return back and, under the influence of gravity, become components of new stars and planets. Billions of years ago, this allowed carbon to become part of our planet, and then become one of the key elements of the human body.

Light from different sources passes through the circumgalactic medium and different chemical elements absorb this light. Astronomers have used it to determine the chemical composition of the circumgalactic environment.

Using the Hubble Telescope, astronomers have studied the interaction of quasar light with the circumgalactic environment of their home galaxies, where the birth of new stars occurs.. Quasars are the brightest objects in the galaxy and create active supermassive black holes when they consume huge amounts of matter..

Some of the quasars' light was absorbed by large amounts of carbon, as well as oxygen bound to other elements.. The study found that the carbon extends up to 400,000 light-years from its host galaxy, which is 4 times the diameter of the Milky Way.. Scientists believe that the carbon now found inside our bodies was once part of the circumgalactic environment outside the Milky Way..

The authors of the study are going to find out what other heavy chemical elements revolve around galaxies and then return back to their depths. Scientists believe that fully understanding what creates the circumgalactic environment could provide valuable information about how a galaxy forms and what events it might experience in the future..

As Focus already wrote, at the beginning of 2025, two flares appeared on the Sun at once, which belong to class X. This is the class of the most powerful solar flares. These events have already had a negative impact on our planet..

Focus also wrote that scientists have discovered a new spiral galaxy in the early Universe, which challenges models of the formation of such astronomical objects.