Stellar chemistry

Stellar chemistry is the study of chemical composition of astronomical objects; stars in particular, hence the name stellar chemistry. The significance of stellar chemical composition is an open ended question at this point. Some research asserts that a greater abundance of certain elements (such as carbon, sodium, silicon, and magnesium) in the stellar mass are necessary for a star's inner solar system to be habitable over long periods of time.^[1][2] The hypothesis being that the "abundance of these elements make the star cooler and cause it to evolve more slowly, thereby giving planets in its habitable zone more time to develop life as we know it."^[1] Stellar abundance of oxygen also appears to be critical to the length of time newly developed planets exist in a habitable zone around their host star.^[2] Researchers postulate that if our own sun had a lower abundance of oxygen, the Earth would have ceased to "live" in a habitable zone a billion years ago, long before complex organisms had the opportunity to evolve.^[1]