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Isn't this one of those things that's obviously true? For one thing, supernovae can release gamma ray bursts, which could easily sterilize a region of space. F
by cletus 8y ago
Isn't this one of those things that's obviously true?
For one thing, supernovae can release gamma ray bursts, which could easily sterilize a region of space. For another, the ejection of material itself could directly affect nearby systems.
Personally I think the more interesting aspects is how, in a certain way, supernovae are _needed_ for complex life as this largely seems to be the source for elements heavier than iron.
Isn't it kind of amazing that there's a bunch of material on earth that only exists because of supernovae and even the merger of neutron stars?
- sbuttgereit 8y agoI think the title of the article is rather poor. It should have been called something like, "Could Past Supernovae Have Caused Historic Mass Extinctions?", Which is really what the article is concerned with. Granted, not nearly so catchy and not nearly so evocative of pending events....
- golemotron 8y agoInteresting fact: We can tell the headline is inaccurate without looking at the article because it violates Betteridge’s Law of Headlines. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headlines https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headli...