Our Beginnings: The Nebula

The Horse-head Nebula.  This star nursery is beautiful to see.  It is 1,500 light years from the Earth, and 5 light years tall.  Inside the dark head of the nebula, stars are forming, new solar systems are being created.  Doesn't that bring a tear to your eye?  That's how we got started, our little Solar System home in gargantuan Space.

Do you ever wonder what our nebula looked like?  Did it have a name?  Was there anything/anyone watching our nebula grow, change and create worlds?

This is a supernova remnant...did we start like this?

As the gases slowed and spread out, did our little Solar System begin to spin? The story of space is so fascinating, and one can get carried away thinking about the bazillions of stars in space forming, growing, dying, exploding...how amazing is all this?

Supernovas heat up surrounding elements and begin stirring the masses nearby.  There are actually two types of supernova explosion "shapes".  The Shell type:

And the Crab-like remnants:

Watch this short video about supernova remnants:

Photos of remnants help scientists try and figure out how solar systems form and where the elements on the periodic table formed.  I would watch, you're gonna love it!