RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT 13 May 2026 Rare isotopes hint at when the Solar System entered the Local Interstellar Cloud. A section of an Antarctic ice core. Other sections of the core hold very low levels of iron-60, which is found in interstellar dust. Credit: Alfred Wegener Institute/Esther Horvath Antarctic ice contains evidence that Earth entered an interstellar dust cloud more than 40,000 years ago 1 . Access options Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription $32.99 / 30 days cancel any time Subscribe to this journal Receive 51 print issues and online access $199.00 per year only $3.90 per issue Rent or buy this article Prices vary by article type from $1.95 to $39.95 Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout Additional access options: Log in Learn about institutional subscriptions Read our FAQs Contact customer support doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-01505-9 References Subjects Latest on:…