A simulation of iron-60 atoms dispersed by multiple supernovae close to the solar system 2.2 million years ago. Some of that iron still lies at the bottom of the oceans and on the moon.
In 2016, researchers published “slam dunk” evidence, based on iron-60 isotopes in ancient seabed, that supernovae buffeted the Earth – one of them about 2.6 million years ago. Melott has followed up since those findings with an examination of the effects of the supernovae on Earth’s biology. In new research to appear in Astrophysical Journal, the KU researcher and colleagues argue the estimated distance of the supernova thought to have occurred roughly 2.6 million years ago should be cut in half.
“There’s even more evidence of that supernova now,” he said...
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