The matter which makes up the hair on our heads to the toes on our feet is made of the same particles as the Earth, the Sun, the Milky Way galaxy, and the galaxies beyond. The process which occurs in the stars to produce new atoms, ions, and isotopes is nuclear fusion.
Supernova explosions produce the elements that are heavier than iron.
This process produces many products including electromagnetic radiation and a variety of different particle types. ACE was launched in August of 1997. The ACE spacecraft contains nine instruments which have varying capabilities to measure particle types, charge, mass, energy, direction of travel, and time of arrival to the spacecraft. Data from ACE is contributing to our understanding of the origin and evolution of the solar system and the processes involved. During its first year, ACE has already collected more data on many isotopes in ACE's energy range than all previous instruments combined.