Tracking the Sun's Galactic Orbit: Uncovering the Origins of Our Solar System

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In summary, the conversation discusses a paper about tracking the path of the sun through the galaxy and the possibility of finding its place of origin and sibling stars. The paper is several years old and there is interest in taking the research further. It is mentioned that our solar system was seeded with elements from a supernova and finding sibling stars could provide insight into planet formation and our evolution.
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emc2cracker
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our suns galactic orbit??

Friends,

I have always heard that it would be almost impossible to track the path of the sun through the galaxy. Yet I have come across this paper:

ICE AGE EPOCHS AND THE SUN’S PATH THROUGH THE GALAXY
D. R. Gies and J. W. Helsel
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 4106,
Atlanta, GA 30302-4106; gies@chara.gsu.edu, helsel@chara.gsu.edu
Receivved 2005 January 4; accepted 2005 March 14

http://www.iop.org/EJ/article/0004-637X/626/2/844/61945.web.pdf?request-id=8504aff5-e8ba-4c5d-b799-a8fff28864a3

Now I am surprised I have not stumbled on this before, it is several years old now. I am wondering if anyone has taken this a step farther.. if we can track our galactic orbit then why can't we find a supposed place of origin for our sun? Can we identify sister stars?

Also how credible is this paper has anyone here studied this and came to any conclusions about its validitiy? It appears mainstream cosmology has yet to take this paper as solid evidence for the orbit of the sun.

I apologize for having a hard time understanding these papers, if I have overlooked these answers its because I am still in introduction to physics and much of what I read I cannot yet understand. Thats why I ask you guys sometimes what seems like stupid questions lol. But I thank you guys for all your help in my self study in physics, without this place I would be lost.
 
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  • #2


emc2cracker said:
I am wondering if anyone has taken this a step farther.. if we can track our galactic orbit then why can't we find a supposed place of origin for our sun? Can we identify sister stars?
See "The lost siblings of the Sun" by S. Portegies Zwart, preprint at the arXiv here: http://arxiv.org/abs/0903.0237.
 
  • #3


D H said:
See "The lost siblings of the Sun" by S. Portegies Zwart, preprint at the arXiv here: http://arxiv.org/abs/0903.0237.

Wow thank you. I did not know that our solar system was seeded with elements from a supernova shortly after the suns birth. I wonder what impact that explosion had on the formation of heavy elements on the Earth if any impact at all. If indeed we do find our siblings and are able to study planet formation on that star it would tell us much about what that supernova meant to our evolution.

I wonder if nearby stars have already been ruled out as possible siblings? It seems we should stumble across one of our siblings at some point in our galactic orbit though. If only I could live for another 180 million years lol! Thanks for this information this is a great read I"m on my third pass.
 

Related to Tracking the Sun's Galactic Orbit: Uncovering the Origins of Our Solar System

1. How does our sun orbit around the galaxy?

Our sun orbits around the center of the Milky Way galaxy in a circular path, much like how planets orbit around the sun. This is due to the gravitational pull of the galaxy's massive black hole at its center.

2. What is the speed of our sun's galactic orbit?

The speed of our sun's galactic orbit is approximately 828,000 kilometers per hour. This means that it takes about 225-250 million years for our sun to complete one full orbit around the galaxy.

3. How does the sun's orbit affect our solar system?

The sun's orbit around the galaxy has a significant effect on our solar system. As it travels through the galaxy, it encounters different areas with varying densities of gas and dust, which can affect the amount of material that reaches our solar system and potentially impact the formation and evolution of planets.

4. Is the sun's orbit changing?

Yes, the sun's orbit is constantly changing due to the gravitational pull of other objects in the galaxy, such as nearby stars and gas clouds. These interactions can cause the sun's orbit to become slightly more elliptical or change its direction.

5. Will the sun's orbit ever collide with another galaxy?

It is unlikely that the sun's orbit will collide with another galaxy. The Milky Way and its nearest neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy, are expected to collide in about 4 billion years, but the sun's orbit is not predicted to be significantly affected by this event.

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