Space geek extraordinaire Rachel pointed me to these supernovae warning stickers that Matt Mechtley of biphenyl.org made — awesome!
Matt says,
One of the most amazing discoveries of modern astrophysics is that almost all of the chemical elements we see around us were produced in supernovae — energetic explosions that typically mark the death throes of massive stars. Elements heavier than oxygen are disseminated mostly through supernovae, and elements heavier than iron come almost only from supernovae. This means that literally everything around you is full of atoms that were originally created in massive stars that exploded and sent those elements flying into interstellar space, where they eventually coalesced into dust and became you and the Earth you’re standing on.
…I thought a sticker campaign would be the perfect cheeky way to engage in some informal education!