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
Denne historien er fra Issue 128-utgaven av All About Space.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 128-utgaven av All About Space.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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15 AUTUMN STARGAZING TARGETS
Go on a night-sky treasure hunt as the brighter evenings give way to the cooler months
MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE WHY IS VENUS SO DRY?
A new study reckons the answer lies high in the Venusian atmosphere
WHEN BLACK HOLES TURN WHITE
Can bouncing black holes help physicists find the ultimate theory of everything?
THE MOON'S THIN ATMOSPHERE IS MADE BY CONSTANT METEORITE BOMBARDMENT
While the solar wind also contributes to the atmosphere, meteorites are the main culprit
INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL AND HOW TO BECOME A SPACE TOURIST
Having explored much of the Solar System, attention is now turning to the stars beyond
NASA'S PERSEVERANCE ROVER FINDS POSSIBLE SIGNS OF ANCIENT RED PLANET LIFE
Further analysis is needed, but a rock contains potential evidence that life once existed on Mars in the distant past
A NASA TELESCOPE MAY HAVE FOUND ANTIMATTER ANNIHILATING IN POSSIBLY THE BIGGEST EXPLOSION SINCE THE BIG BANG
The massive explosion was captured in 2022
Jameel Janjua "This is how we get to Mach 3”
Jameel Janjua made it to the bitter end in a Canadian government astronaut selection in 2009, but wasn't chosen. He found a different path to space through Virgin Galactic
BOEING NEEDS TO IMPROVE QUALITY CONTROL ON THE SLS MOON ROCKET
The NASA Inspector General's report finds serious quality-control issues affecting the upgraded version and expects cost overruns and delays
DARK ENERGY
THE MOST DOMINANT FORCE IN THE UNIVERSE IS ALSO ITS MOST MYSTERIOUS AND MOST UNANTICIPATED