New research has uncovered a "fossil record" in dust from meteorites, offering insights into the early history of the solar system, dating back 4.6 billion years to the formation of the sun. Around that time, the solar system was a vast cloud of gas and dust called a solar nebula. Over millions of years, this cloud began to flatten into a donut-shaped structure, with a young star forming at its center. Eventually, planets would emerge from the material in this protoplanetary disk. While scientists have long believed that gravity was the main force shaping this early period, a new study suggests that magnetism also played a significant role. Evidence of this magnetic influence was found in grains of dust from a meteorite called DOM 08006, discovered in Antarctica in 2008. These grains are calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs), which are believed to have formed during the first 200,000 years of the solar system. CAIs are considered the oldest known samples of solar system material, and their complexity makes them a key subject of study. "We know they are the oldest things we have of the early solar system," said Cauê Borlina, a researcher from Purdue University and leader of the study. The CAIs found in DOM 08006 indicate that a magnetic field was present in the early solar system, even during the nebula phase. This magnetic field would have been much stronger than Earth's current magnetosphere and likely influenced the flattening of the solar nebula. "This transition from a spherical cloud to a protoplanetary disk is one of the most significant events in solar system history," said Benjamin Weiss of MIT. While gravity has long been considered the dominant force, the study suggests that magnetism may have played an equally important role. The magnetic field in the early solar system may have been generated by charged particles spinning through the collapsing cloud of gas and dust that formed the sun. This plasma would have sustained the magnetic field, which then influenced the material in the solar nebula. Scientists believe that the strength of this field should be "locked in" to materials from that time, which could later be found in meteorites. Previous studies have found evidence of a magnetic field that existed 2 million years after the solar system began forming, but the team was looking for an even earlier magnetic field, one that existed before the sun had fully formed. DOM 08006 is one of the most unaltered meteorites ever discovered, preserving materials as they were during the early solar system. Unlike other meteorites, which have undergone various processes over billions of years, DOM 08006 has remained largely unchanged. The team identified a few CAIs in the meteorite that contained magnetic minerals like iron and measured the magnetism they retained. Their findings suggest that a magnetic field 12 times stronger than Earth's existed in the early solar system. This field may have helped move gas from the protoplanetary disk toward the forming sun, playing a crucial role in the solar system's evolution. The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, highlights the importance of considering magnetic fields when understanding how the sun and planets formed. While gravity remains a key factor, the research shows that magnetism should not be overlooked in models of the solar system's early history.