One of the most amazing thingsin our universe is that we are made of stars. The heavy elements in our bodies,the carbon and the oxygen, the nitrogen, used to be, millions of miles downinside stars. 

So our existence here, on thisplanet, relies on a deep history of stars being born, creating new elements,and speaking as elements back out into the cosmos where they are in turnrecycled many many times.   

Over and over again for almost14 billion years ever since the beginning of the universe and the formation ofthe first stars. Black holes have influenced this cosmic recycling process. Andsince the elements forged in those stars ended up inside planets like our own,it means our black hole must have created the conditions to make it, just right,for life to emerge here on Earth. 

We are very lucky. We are notclose-by enough to have won this in a feeding frenzy that we get washed crossby this destructive radiation that will tear apart our molecules and ouratmosphere, and basically leave us in a barren place. 

  And there’s the otherextreme, where things are extremely quiet and cold and maybe there haven’t beenany stars formed there ever, because nothing stirred it up. And nothing reallygot process these going that would make all the elements make new generationson planets in sum. 

It means our black hole, must have left its finger prints on the uniquechemistry that made possible the first stirrings of life here on Earth.