Re:The Worsening Cosmic Ray Situation
by djsumdog on Thursday March 08, 2018 @12:00AM
(#16542391)
I remember learning about this. I wonder if Earth was enveloped in such a burst, if we'd go out quickly, peacefully, like a heart attack in our sleep. Most life wiped out on our planet in an instant. It makes you wonder how many world out there contain the empty structures of civilizations that went out in an instant, with a whisper.
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Re:The Worsening Cosmic Ray Situation
by bugs_bunny on Thursday March 08, 2018 @01:18AM
(#16542685)
It wouldn't be quick, and it would be ugly, as explained in...
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/04/090403-gamm...
and
https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/how-deadly-would-a-nearby...
BUT, such events are (apparently) every billion years or so...
Re:The Worsening Cosmic Ray Situation
by danielbarla on Thursday March 08, 2018 @06:10AM
(#16543651)
I think that on average, there's a GRB close enough to us to matter once every billion years or so. However, it'd still need to be aligned perfectly to hit us, making the actual extinction event far less likely.
Re:The Worsening Cosmic Ray Situation
by stjohnswarts on Thursday March 08, 2018 @01:04AM
(#16542647)
I just hope we can even find a xeno microbe to put another nail in the coffin of organized religion.