Huge Supernova will have caused a glacial era on earth. Can vote to happen

The massive explosion of a supernova, about 13,000 years ago, may have triggered the recent Dryas Glacial Age by damaging the Earth’s Ozone Layer with deadly radiation – causing the extinction of lanked mammals, giant sloths and other existing megafauna species.

A new study connects the massive explosion of sailonly 287 light years from Earth, Recent Dryasmysterious period when temperatures suddenly fell for 1,300 years, interrupting the end of the last glacial age.

The cosmic explosion, which occurred about 13,000 years ago, may have suddenly plunged the earth in a New Glacial Ageeliminating thready mammoths, giant sloths and other large creatures throughout North America.

According to the, published in April in the magazine Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, At least eight nearby supernovae – The violent deaths of massive stars – released sufficient energy radiation To eliminate the protective layer of ozone from Earth, trigger a global cooling and cause generalized extinctions of animals.

“We have Abrupt environmental changes in earth history. This is solid, we see these changes, ”explains Robert Brakenridgeresearcher at the University of Colorado and author of the study, in the disclosed by the University. “So what caused them?”

Throughout the study, Brakenridge analyzed 78 known remnants Supernovas and found An impressive pattern: They seem to go hand in hand with climate change on Earth.

“The events we know here on Earth coincide with these events: they hit right at the moment and at the intensity“, diz Brakenridge.

Their calculations show that these star explosions were powerful enough to damage the earth’s atmosphere and change the climate system of the planet, which means that the history of our world has been shaped not only by terrestrial disasters, but also for the deaths of distant stars.

Supernovae are among the most energetic events in the universe. When a mass star exhausts its nuclear fuel, collapse and explode With more energy than our sun will produce throughout its life of 10 billion years, explains the.

These explosions can for a while shine whole, sending deadly radiation through vast distances.

Brakenridge examined supernova remnants (the expansive gas shells and debris left by these explosions) within a radius of 2,300 light years from Earth, and calculated How much harmful radiation of x -rays and gamma rays Each explosion would have sent to our planet.

Although 287 light years may seem impossibly distant (about 2,700 billion of kilometers), in cosmic terms it is practically “here“.

Of the 78 supernovae analyzed, 8 were close enough and they were powerful enough to significantly affect the earth.

The explosion of candle, a “cosmic climate killer“, It stands out as a more dramatic example, aligning itself remarkably with Several dramatic changes In Earth’s history, when our planet was emerging from the last glacial age, about 13,000 years ago.

Brakenridge’s analysis reveals that the explosion would have bombarded our planet with sufficient radiation to severely damage the ozone layer – The thin atmospheric layer that protects the life of the sun’s ultraviolet rays.

Tree Rings Records show a sudden peak 35 parts per million Carbon-14 Radioactivewhich indicates massive increases of atmospheric radiation. Ice samples from both poles reveal an abrupt decrease in methane concentrations.

Archaeological sites throughout North America have fossil records that document the mammoth extinction, mastodontesgiant sloths and saber tigers.

All these changes coincide with the beginning of recent dryaswhen global temperatures fell and ice sheets began to advance again.

When high energy radiation reaches the atmosphere of the earth, it decomposes the nitrogen molecules, creating compounds that destroy the ozone. With less atmospheric protection, six times more detrimental ultraviolet radiation would reach the earth’s surface, causing damage to plants and animals, as well as triggering massive forest fires.

In addition to candle, Brakenridge identified several other potential connections of supernoves throughout the recent history of the earth.

Tree rings records show inexplicable carbon-14 peaks There are 9,126, 7,209, 2,764, 2,614, 1,175 and 957 years, all corresponding to known remnants of supernoves close to appropriate ages and distances.

A Supernova of hoingingawhich exploded about 15,000 years ago to about 350 light years away, may have caused an increase in carbon-14 of 30 parts per million in a year, coinciding with another cold period called Ancient Dryas.

The results of the study also reveal a clear causal relationship: closer explosions created larger environmental impacts.

The study author suggests that this type of events could influence again our planet. “When nearby supernovae occur in the future, radiation may have one andmade very dramatic in human society“,” Says Brakenridge. “So it’s important to find out if, in fact, they have caused environmental changes in the past.”

At the moment, Several nearby stars could become supernovaeincluding a red giant about 170 light years away explode within a million years.

Although it is unlikely to cause mass extinction (and that we are here to watch), such an event could measurably affect the atmosphere and climate of the earth. But curiously, the astronomers are impatiently waiting May Betelgeuse surprise us with yours.