How Many Stars Did It Take to Make Us?

It means that a bunch of hydrogen collected into star and exploded. And then the debris went into another cloud of hydrogen, which collapsed and then exploded, and one more time.

A type 1A can produce elements up to Nickel - but the Nickel decays into Iron as it's an unstable isotope. To produce stable elements higher than iron, you need to first have iron in the core. Any star capable of producing iron in the core prior to its death is likely too massive to leave behind a white dwarf when it dies. Typically, a white dwarf that is the progenitor of a type 1A has a crust made of helium and a core of carbon and oxygen in varying ratios. The ratio of these elements determines the ratios of heavier elements produced during the supernova. The crust will produce elements ranging from Oxygen to Calcium, and the core will create much of the other elements between Calcium and Iron. This doesn't mean that every element below Iron are produced in a type 1A supernova explosion. Because the starting elements are carbon and oxygen - only specific other elements can be synthesized. The following link shows the reaction chains possible in stars with Carbon and Oxygen in their cores: <a href="http://www.astrophysicsspectator.com/topics/stars/FusionCarbonOxygen.html" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://www.astrophysicsspectator.com/topics/stars/FusionCarbonOxygen.html</a>

Yeah, I'm surprised we didn't shoot that last part again. But Jay just thought it was too funny.