Astronomers are trying to determine whether the sun was born alone or with many siblings.
The sun is old, born 4.6 billion years ago, and has wandered far from its ancestral home.
Evidence of the sun's gestational environment can be found in meteorites.
Computer simulations can be used to investigate the likely natal environment of the sun.
The sun likely had many siblings and was born in a metropolitan neighborhood.
Stars are born in cosmic clouds called nebulae.
Nebulae come in many shapes and sizes, from small dark globules to immense giant molecular clouds.
The nearby nebula Barnard 68 is small and could transmogrify into a star in as little as 200,000 years.
during research astronomers looked at two elements in particular: aluminum-26 and iron-60.
Their results indicate that as it formed in its natal disk, the early sun was likely pummeled by powerful winds and supernovae explosions sourced from massive stars.
Understanding the sun's origin story can help us better understand our own.