Some radioactive isotopes found in meteorites suggest that the solar system may have been formed shortly after a supernova occurred nearby.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Some radioactive isotopes found in meteorites, such as aluminum-26 and iron-60, have half-lives of only a few million years, indicating that they were formed in a supernova explosion. The presence of these isotopes in meteorites suggests that the early solar system was close enough to a supernova that the debris from the explosion was incorporated into the solar system's protoplanetary disk, which eventually formed the planets, asteroids, and comets. This theory is supported by observations of other star-forming regions, which show that supernova explosions are frequently associated with the birth of new stars.

Some Radioactive Isotopes Found in Meteorites Suggest That the Solar