At first blush, those conditions do not sound very common. How likely could it be that the heavier elements were originally formed in the manner in which you describe, but then 'recycled' from other bodies which contained those elements but were destroyed in a nova when the star they orbited...
Whatever the fabric of the universe is, it certainly is able to extend the effect of gravity and/or mass. Model our solar system to scale using a basketball for the sun (9.5"), the Earth would be less than a tenth of an inch in diameter (.088") and 86 feet away.
What makes it so that two...
Are heavier elements only formed in a star? The Earth, and the other planets in our system, are composed of Nickel, Iron, Carbon, etc. When/if Sol goes nova, would those elements then be spread about, possibly to be accreted into another body?