Skip to navigation | Skip to content  How death gave birth to
our solar system  Supernova 7112011W49b_475x356  New computer
simulations indicate the death of a star in a supernova may have
triggered the birth of our Sun and solar system (Source:
NASA/GSFC/Chandra X-Ray Observatory)  Solar system birth Our
solar system was born thanks to the death of a nearby star in a
spectacular supernova event, say researchers.  The findings are
based on new computer simulations developed by Dr Matthias
Gritschneder, from Beijing's Peking University, and colleagues,
and published on the pre-press website  Gritschneder and
colleagues found shock waves generated by a supernova could have
caused the collapse of a molecular gas and dust cloud,
eventually leading to the formation of the Sun and planets.  The
model also explains unusual isotope readings in some of the
oldest bodies of the solar system.  Stars and solar systems are
created in the collapse of molecular gas and dust clouds.
Scientists say this is what happened to o