Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
May 2007
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007aas...210.4901f&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society Meeting 210, #49.01; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 39, p.162
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
The lifespans of the most massive stars are a symphony of the fundamental forces, culminating in a spectacular and violent supernova explosion. While these events are awesome to observe, they can take a more sinister shade when they occur closer to home, because an explosion inside a certain "minimum safe distance" would pose a grave threat to life on Earth. We will discuss these cosmic insults to life, and ways to determine whether a supernova occurred nearby over the course of the Earth's existence. We will then present recent evidence that a star exploded near the Earth about 3 million years ago. Radioactive iron-60 atoms have been found in ancient samples of deep-ocean material, and are likely to be debris from this explosion. Recent data confirm this radioactive signal, and for the first time allow sea sediments to be used as a telescope, probing the nuclear reactions that power exploding stars. Furthermore, an explosion so close to Earth was probably a "near-miss," which emitted intense and possibly harmful radiation. The resulting environmental damage may even have led to extinction of species which were the most vulnerable to this radiation.
No associations
LandOfFree
When Stars Attack! Live Radioactivities as Geological Signatures of Nearby Supernova Explosions does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with When Stars Attack! Live Radioactivities as Geological Signatures of Nearby Supernova Explosions, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and When Stars Attack! Live Radioactivities as Geological Signatures of Nearby Supernova Explosions will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1031084