How big was the cloud of dust that formed the material for the future solar system? How far away could the stars which exploded to form it have been from where we are now? One light year? More? Were any other stars made from the same cloud? What is likely to have happened to the cores of the old stars – could they still be floating around unobserved a couple of light years away? Or could they have been absorbed by the sun?
Sorry if any of these questions make you go :smack: :rolleyes:
The only things I’ve read are that our sun was likely the result of shockwaves from a nearby supernova. Although I don’t know how close “nearby” is. But they are good questions and I don’t think we have those answers.
So that would suggest there were 2 sets of stars involved - the first one(s) that exploded to provide the material for the dust cloud, and then the second one that went supernova to provide the shockwaves in that cloud that seeded the formation of the sun.
So, are there any theories at all (or even wild guesses) on this?
The process is thought to be understood in some detail, although each step is contested by some scientists.
The Origin of the Elements of Life is an attempt to stay technical but put it into simpler language.
A book is probably the best way to approach this, because there are so many different pieces to understand that some space, no pun intended, is needed to explain them from scratch. Any bookstore or library will have dozens of books about the origin of the solar system.