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Tree rings could detect supernovae traces near us.
Supernovae are the final stage of stars before they “transform” into white dwarfs, neutron stars … If a star explodes in our immediate vicinity, all life on the planet would immediately disappear and the atmosphere would be lost. According to new research by Robert Brakenridge, a geologist at the University of Colorado Boulder, the massive energy bursts that took place thousands of light-years from Earth may have left traces in our planet’s biology and geology.
A study published this month in the International Journal of Astro Biology examines the effects of supernovae, some of the most violent events in the known universe. Within a few months, one of these eruptions can release as much energy as the Sun radiates during its lifetime.
Brakenridge studied annual tree rings for evidence of these events. His findings suggest that relatively close supernovae could theoretically trigger at least four disturbances in Earth’s climate over the past 40,000 years. The scientist was primarily looking for a carbon isotope known as carbon-14. It occurs on our planet in very small quantities. Radiocarbon is formed when cosmic rays from space bombard our planet’s atmosphere almost constantly.
Notel that scientists have detected supernovae in other galaxies that have produced an enormous amount of gamma radiation, the same type of radiation that can trigger the formation of radioactive atoms on Earth. Although these isotopes are not dangerous in themselves, a sharp rise in their levels could indicate that the energy of a distant supernova has traveled around our planet for hundreds or thousands of light years.
He hopes that soon humanity will not have to know the effects of the supernova. Some astronomers think they have caught signs that Betelgeuse, the red giant in the Orion constellation, may be on the verge of a supernova collapse. She is with us only 642.5 light years.
Zdroj: Phys,
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