How were the elements past iron formed?

Question

After watching the History Chanel series "The Universe", it got me thinking. In stellar formation, the largest stars start fusing Hydrogen into Helium, and then fusing the Helium and so forth and so on as the fuel is spent. 

Now when it gets to Iron, it is doomed. Iron takes more energy to fuse than is released by the fusing process. So when you get an iron core formed in a star, it goes supernova.

So if the cycle of life in a star ends at iron, how and where do the rest of elements get formed? What are the process that form them?

Kes · Accepted Answer

When a massive star uses up all of its fuel ending with iron it generates too little heat and pressure to resist gravity and collapses.  When all the matter tries to reach the center of gravity (like falling stones?) pressure and temperature are increased enough to fuse existing elements into all the heavier elements with a tremendous release of fusion energy.  This creates a supernova explosion leaving behind a neutron star.  The implosion results in an explosion.

Cancer · Answer

Yes, you're right. Low-mass and high-mass stars (in their main sequence stage) produce all elements up to iron. However, the heavier elements of gold, lead and others were not formed at that point.
It is when high-mass stars die that the rest of elements are formed. This stage of death in a high-mass stars life is the "supernova": a large explosion that is somewhat like a mini Big Bang.

zhuge_liang1 · Answer

Elements past Iron are formed in Supernova explosions which can form elements with atomic masses up to 254.

Demiurge42 · Answer

Elements past iron are created in a supernova.  The energy to form them comes from the explosion.

Peter T · Answer

Principally by neutron capture processes.
The R-process in supernovae.
The S-process in Asymptotic Giant Branch stars.

How were the elements past iron formed?

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