Young Solar System Protected by Molecular Filament from Supernova, Study Finds

A new study suggests that a filament of molecular gas shielded the young solar system from a nearby supernova blast while also aiding the capture of isotopes found in meteorites. The dense filament around the forming solar system acted as a buffer, protecting the young sun and catching the radioactive isotopes from the supernova blast wave and channeling them into the still-forming solar system. The study's calculations showed that it would take at least 300,000 years for the blast wave to break up the dense filament around the forming solar system.