boosted exposure to cosmic rays tagged posts

This image shows the remnant of Supernova 1987A seen in light of very different wavelengths. ALMA data (in red) shows newly formed dust in the centre of the remnant. Hubble (in green) and Chandra (in blue) data show the expanding shock wave. Credit: ALMA/NASA

Research published in April provided “slam dunk” evidence of 2 prehistoric supernovae exploding ~300 light years from Earth. Now, a follow-up investigation based on computer modeling shows those supernovae likely exposed biology on our planet to a long-lasting gust of cosmic radiation, which also affected the atmosphere. According to Prof Melott, initially the 2 stars that exploded 1.7 to 3.2 million and 6.5 to 8...