Did a supernova spark the solar system?

And now, from the Department of Silver Linings, some good news about star death.

Every star dies, eventually. The details of how and when depend on the mass of the star. When lightweights like the Sun run out of nuclear fuel, their outer layers drift out and away like dandelion fluff. Bigger stars — those more than ten times as massive as the sun — have more finales. These stars go supernova, strewing their guts across the galaxy in explosive shockwaves, including elements that can only be made via inside stars or in supernova explosions. Read more.