Nuclear Astrophysics investigates the origin and fate of the elements in the universe as the product of nuclear reactions in stars.

The elements heavier than iron are mostly be produced by neutron captures because their Coulomb barrier is too large to be able to capture charged particles.

Stardust grains are recovered from primitive meteorites and analysed via mass spectrometry. They are smaller than the tiniest grain of sand but they carry a wealth of information about the stars where they come from.

At birth, our solar system contained radioactive nuclei, now extinct, which were produced by nearby stars. Some of these nuclei were responsible for melting the interiors of the first protoplanets.