Clues to the past:

A look at the constellation Taurus

Research into the origins of the Sol system has trained the eyes of the OSR on the constellation Taurus. In an area some 450 light years distant, within this constellation, has been found six young stellar bodies that possess dust rings.

And while these stellar objects do not exhibit planetary bodies, they may offer a glimpse into what our system looked like in its infancy, some 4.5 billion years ago.

It is believed by the scientific community, that as stars age, this dust condenses into planets. And while these objects have been known to exist for some time, we have only now been able to reveal details with regard to their size, shape, and composition.

It is through these observations that we are able to observe what maybe the earliest formative stages of planets. Yet at a distance of 450 light years, what we’re actually seeing occurred back in the late 15^th century, or around the time Copernicus was proving that the earth and the rest of the planets circled the sun.

It is this difference in ‘time’ that is both a help and a hindrance in our understanding of our universe and of our place in it. For in as much as it gives us a glimpse into what our solar system perhaps looked like, we ourselves will never know if our observations prove correct. For unless we can see such first hand, many generations will have passed before it is known [one way…or the other].