Sol Invictus

Abstract

One of the great misconceptions of modern astronomy concerns the idea that our Sun and the life-bearing world it has nurtured over eons of time, is in some sense ‘common.’ Diligent research across a dozen disciplines has cast severe doubt on that rather outdated and, dare it be said, naive notion. As was touched on in an earlier chapter, our Solar System was forged in a unique epoch in cosmic history, during the time when elements such as uranium and thorium reached their maximum abundance. Since that era, the creation of these elements via supernova explosions (the only known source of uranium and thorium) has lagged behind the rate at which these elements decay. Since this time, a little under 5 billion years ago, the availability of these elements for planet building has decreased.