New meteorite data lends support to a controversial theory that the violent explosion of a star was involved in the creation of the Sun and its planets.

The primitive space rock contains signs that a short-lived, radioactive form of the element chlorine may have been present in the early Solar System. A US-Chinese team claims the most likely source of this "isotope" was a supernova - or exploding star.

For years, astronomers have believed that the Solar System formed inconspicuously, from a slowly condensing cloud of dust and gas. But this traditional view is now being challenged.

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DA Morgan