Will this be the end of the world? The space explosion that could wipe out life on Earth according to scientists

From asteroids to alien annihilation, Hollywood disaster movies have offered almost every possibility for how the world will end.

But there seems to be a threat to humanity coming from outer space. According to the news Stady From the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Kilonova This rare and mysterious type of cosmic explosion has the potential to wipe out life on Earth forever. “thousands of years”.

Although it is not as violent as a supernova, it is kilonova It occurs when two neutron stars or a neutron star and a black hole collide and merge, producing a gamma-ray burst that lasts only a few seconds.

“We found that if a neutron star merger occurred about 36 light-years from Earth, the resulting radiation could cause an extinction-level event.”said Hayley Perkins, a scientist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

First, it should be noted that the risk of such an explosion occurring at this distance is extremely low. The closest known neutron stars are more than 400 light-years away from our planet.

It can destroy the ozone layer

But scientists say the reason such an explosion could wipe out humanity is because the type of radiation produced by gamma rays carries enough energy to strip atoms of electrons in a process called ionization.

Once the rays reach the Earth, they can destroy and expose the ozone layer Thousands of years, exposing humans to lethal doses of ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

However, the explosion must have occurred 36 light-years from Earth. “The exact safety distance, the most critical element, is uncertain, as many outcomes depend on characteristics such as the viewing angle of the event, the energy of the explosion, the mass of the ejected material, and more.” Perkins added.

The reason scientists are interested in kilonova explosions is that they are rare and fast, which makes them difficult to study. Researchers at the University of Warwick revealed this week that they had been able to use it NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope For the first kilonova analysis.

Other dangers to Earth from kilonovas

This allowed them to study the heavy elements produced by the explosion, including confirming the hypothesis that the kilonova creates tellurium.

The new study from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign It was based on the merger of a different neutron star about 130 million light-years away, which was the only electron emission from a kilonova that we saw.

Furthermore, scientists have found that gamma rays from merging neutron stars have the potential to destroy anything in their path. The distance is 297 light years. However, for this to happen on Earth would require a “direct hit” with gamma rays, and is therefore a less likely development.

The final danger associated with kilonovas is another effect that comes from gamma rays. Gamma rays as they travel through space, They collide with the gas and dust surrounding the stars, which in turn generates powerful X-ray emissions. The researchers said in the study that this radiation is longer-lasting than gamma-ray emissions. This is why it has the potential to damage the Earth’s ozone layer.

The researchers concluded, of course, that solar storms, asteroids, and supernova explosions were more likely to be accepted as harmful to Earth. Earth compared to a kilonova explosion.

“Neutron star mergers are extremely rare but powerful enough that this, coupled with the relatively small scale of deaths, means that extinction caused by the merger of two binary neutron stars should not worry people on Earth.” Perkins said.

source: FOXreport.gr