Cosmic Scars Reveal The Sun Once Had Siblings, And Their Breakup Was More Violent Than We Thought

For decades, astronomers have believed that the Sun was not born alone but emerged from the same cloud of gas and dust as several stellar siblings. What has remained unclear is how long those stars stayed together before drifting apart across the Milky Way. A new study has now attempted to answer this cosmic mystery, and the clues lie in the scars left at the very edge of our solar system.

The Sun’s Chaotic Childhood in a Packed Star Cluster

Scientists have long theorised that the Sun formed in a crowded stellar nursery, surrounded by many other newborn stars packed tightly in a shared cloud. While these stars began life together, their gravitational interactions were anything but peaceful.

Whenever two stars passed too close, their powerful gravity could violently disrupt each other’s