double star

An artist's rendering of a potential companion to the Sun, which theorists believe evolved in the Sun's natal cluster and then was lost. If proven, the companion sun theory would add credence to theories that the Oort cloud formed as we see it today, and the ninth planet was captured rather than formed in its place. Qualifying: M. Weiss

Did the sun start life as half of a pair of twin stars?

Harvard University scientists say the Sun may once have had a binary companion with a similar mass. If the theory is confirmed, the presence of an ancient companion star increases the likelihood that the Oort cloud formed as it is observed