![KILLER UNIVERSE](https://cdn.magzter.com/1493279487/1648039571/articles/fU0f66YtX1648710462383/KILLER-UNIVERSE.jpg)
While Earth isn't free of destructive impulses - natural disasters, climate change, radioactive rocks and deadly viruses, to name but a few - it's a relatively safe haven for humans among the stars, hence why humans have managed to evolve to live here so successfully. But leaving the confines of our planet's protective atmosphere, the universe gets a lot deadlier. As it turns out, space isn't the most welcoming place for us Earth dwellers, with many ways the universe could wipe us all out in just the blink of an eye.
1 A GAMMA-RAY BURST MELTS THE ATMOSPHERE
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most intense, high-energy radiation events in the universe, thought to be produced from explosive cosmic events like hypernovae, black hole formation and colliding neutron stars. Though these beams typically last just a few seconds, they release 10 billion years of solar energy in this tiny timeframe.
We've only observed GRBs in distant galaxies so far, but there's no reason the same physics couldn't apply in our Milky Way. If a nearby event triggered such a burst, and the electromagnetic beam was directed straight at our planet, we wouldn't feel any immediate effect. However, the intensity of the radiation would strip away the ozone layer of our atmosphere in mere seconds, leaving us vulnerable to cosmic rays and the full ultraviolet radiation that the Sun sends our way. And because of the split second nature of GRBs, it would be nigh impossible to predict when one could strike us. It also might not be the first time: a local GRB is one theory put forward to explain the Late Ordovician mass extinction - one of Earth's five major extinction events - which took place around 450 million years ago, wiping out 85 per cent of species in our primitive oceans.
2 MAGNETARS
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Issue 128-Ausgabe von All About Space.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Issue 128-Ausgabe von All About Space.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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![LONG AGO, A LAKE ON MARS MAY HAVE BEEN SPRAWLING WITH MICROBES](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15256/1729654/KBMk_Cfs41719993738326/LONG-AGO-A-LAKE-ON-MARS-MAY-HAVE-BEEN-SPRAWLING-WITH-MICROBES.jpg)
LONG AGO, A LAKE ON MARS MAY HAVE BEEN SPRAWLING WITH MICROBES
Curiosity discovered manganese oxide in bedrock in a Martian region that may have been a shoreline billions of years ago
![MOON TOUR HELL](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15256/1729654/ht0gO_mHi1719993459712/MOON-TOUR-HELL.jpg)
MOON TOUR HELL
Finding this fascinating crater isnt as hard as its name suggests...
![THIS MONTH'S PLANETS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15256/1729654/-7K-H52mO1719993250345/THIS-MONTHS-PLANETS.jpg)
THIS MONTH'S PLANETS
Most of the planets are tricky targets this month, but our guide will help you locate them
![UNIVERSE BEFORE TIME](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15256/1729654/cHFLjjJOS1719991851680/UNIVERSE-BEFORE-TIME.jpg)
UNIVERSE BEFORE TIME
Could the existence of a mirror-image cosmos before the Big Bang solve some of the biggest mysteries in astronomy?
![CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15256/1729654/Se3Bbyf0G1719991384386/CLIMATE-CHANGE-IN-THE-SOLAR-SYSTEM.jpg)
CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Alongside Earth, our planetary neighbourhood is changing, but it’s not for the better…
![Stars give tiny planets a gravitational 'squeeze' to strip away their atmospheres](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15256/1729654/QMnZ5oBmH1719991224194/STARS-GIVE-TINY-PLANETS-A-GRAVITATIONAL-SQUEEZE-TO-STRIP-AWAY-THEIR-ATMOSPHERES.jpg)
Stars give tiny planets a gravitational 'squeeze' to strip away their atmospheres
A scientist has learned more about the violent processes that rip atmospheres away from planets, finding that squashing and squeezing by a parent star can contribute to this process.
![The Milky Way's halo is filled with ‘magnetic doughnuts' as wide as 100,000 light years](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15256/1729654/zhhazHOyf1719991166108/THE-MILKY-WAYS-HALO-IS-FILLED-WITH-MAGNETIC-DOUGHNUTS-AS-WIDE-AS-100000-LIGHT-YEARS.jpg)
The Milky Way's halo is filled with ‘magnetic doughnuts' as wide as 100,000 light years
The outer halo of the Milky Way is filled with magnetic fields that take the shape of vast doughnuts with diameters ranging from 12,000 to 100,000 light years, with the heart of our galaxy at their centre.
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The Pentagon wants the commercial space reserve to support military satellites in orbit
The US Department of Defense is developing a plan to use the ever-growing American commercial space industry for national security purposes.
![DOES A COSMIC 'GLITCH' IN GRAVITY CHALLENGE ALBERT EINSTEIN'S GREATEST THEORY?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15256/1729654/qd-Mswgsf1719990737533/DOES-A-COSMIC-GLITCH-IN-GRAVITY-CHALLENGE-ALBERT-EINSTEINS-GREATEST-THEORY.jpg)
DOES A COSMIC 'GLITCH' IN GRAVITY CHALLENGE ALBERT EINSTEIN'S GREATEST THEORY?
Gravity changes once you reach a cosmic scale
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DEEP SKY CHALLENGE : STELLAR TREASURES OF THE ARCHER AND SCORPION
Summer skies are stuffed full of amazing objects for your telescope - if you're prepared to stay up late