"We're doing archaeology on a cosmic scale," says Clayton, describing his current work, which focuses on "isotopic anomalies" found in meteorites. According to Clayton, the rare isotopic composition of these minerals shows that they predate the solar system, and were incorporated into matter when it formed. "This is exciting because it gives us `cosmic chemical memory'--a chemical memory of things that happened in our galaxy before our solar system was born."
Clayton, 55, was among the first proponents of the theory that the chemical elements are created during the process of stellar evolution. In 1969 he predicted that radioactive cobalt would be present during supernova explosions, a discovery that would prove this theory. This was confirmed in 1987 when a supernova in the Magellanic Clouds exploded.
Clayton says that his radioactive cobalt prediction is just one of many predictions he has made over the years, some of which have gone ...
