Researchers have laid out a new, comprehensive theory for how the solar system formed — inside the bubble of a long-dead, giant star.

How Did the Solar System Form? The tale of our sun may begin with another star: a predecessor whose fiery death brought about the birth of our solar system.

– Gavriel, age 10, Paducah, Kentucky A cloud of collapsing gas created our Sun, the first thing to form in our solar system. This happened about 4½ billion years ago.

To honor its name, NASA's Lucy spacecraft promises to shed some light on how our planet and everything around it was formed by investigating the" fossils" of our solar system.

How Did the Solar System Form? The tale of our sun may begin with another star: a predecessor whose fiery death brought about the birth of our solar system.

This process, called accretion , is how everything in the solar system – planets, moons, comets and asteroids – came into being. Telescopes can see young solar systems being born.

– Gavriel, age 10, Paducah, Kentucky A cloud of collapsing gas created our Sun, the first thing to form in our solar system. This happened about 4½ billion years ago.