Illustration of a distant supernova colliding with Earth (Image courtesy of Robert Lee (created with Canva))
New research suggests that fatal explosions of massive stars, known as supernovae, may have significantly affected our planet’s climate throughout its long history. Analyzing historical examples of such events could help scientists predict and prepare for similar ones in the future.
Supernovae form when stars much more massive than the Sun exhaust their nuclear fuel and can no longer resist their own gravity. The resulting complete gravitational collapse creates either a neutron star or a black hole, and releases a powerful blast of energy and high-speed particles that can travel through star systems and even galaxies.
It has been established that if a supernova occurred 30 light years from our planet, the atmosphere would be destroyed and all life on Earth would be wiped out. So it is entirely plausible that if a massive star exploded hundreds of light years from Earth, the cosmic event might not be catastrophic, but it could still cause significant changes to our atmosphere, astronomers say.
“There have been dramatic environmental changes throughout Earth's history,” said study author Robert Breakenridge, a senior scientist at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, in a statement. “We certainly see these changes. But what causes them?
“When supernovae explode nearby in the future, their radiation could have a very significant impact on human society. We have to find out whether they actually caused environmental changes in the past.”
Breakenridge is not the first scientist to consider the possibility that past and future supernova events could affect Earth's atmosphere.
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Sourse: www.livescience.com
