Earth is quietly collecting radioactive debris from an ancient stellar explosion as our Solar System drifts through a giant cloud of gas and dust between the stars. Scientists analyzing Antarctic ice up to 80,000 years old discovered traces of iron-60 — a rare isotope forged in supernova explosions — and found evidence that this “cosmic ash” has been lingering inside the Local Interstellar Cloud for ages. The discovery suggests the cloud surrounding our Solar System was shaped by a long-ago exploding star, offering researchers a new way to study our galactic neighborhood.
