Ancient blue crystals tell the first volatile years of the Sun – BGR

The Sun is the oldest body in our solar system – and since everything in our system revolves around it, that seems perfectly logical – springing up somewhere there is about 4.6 billion. years. The planets formed millions of years later from the material that was orbiting the star, and for this reason, it is quite difficult to find material from the formative years of the Sun preserved in their original state. just that, mineralizing meteorites for tiny crystals that tell the story of our star's early years. The bold blue crystals, called hibonite, were formed by the primitive Sun, revealing its history of violent and energetic origin.

The research, which was published in Nature Astronomy explains how scientists hunted for solar system material that is even older than the Earth itself. Smaller objects in our solar system like meteorites and asteroids offer the best chance of finding this kind of ancient material because they act as time capsules.

Using meteorite samples from the Field Museum, the researchers found the tiny crystals. and by studying them they have discovered that their unique properties are the result of a very active young sun. The crystals harbor tiny pieces of neon and helium, which are both the result of a stream of charged particles radiating from the Sun and striking the material billions of years ago. The only explanation for these elements trapped in the crystals is that the Sun was much more active in its early years than it is now.

This is one of the first tangible proofs of how the Sun behaved before the formation of the Earth. and although scientists have long suspected that the young Sun was much more active than today, proving in reality that it was a monumental challenge

" What I find exciting is that it tells us about the conditions in the first solar system, and finally confirms a long-standing suspicion, "says Philipp Heck, author of the study." If we understand better in the past, we will gain a better understanding of the physics and chemistry of our natural world. "