The Local Bubble: How our solar system got caught up in a cosmic crime scene

Trying to think about the numbers provided in the article:

14 million years ago, about 1,000 large stars went supernova more or less together, and blasted out a void that is now 1,000 light-years in diameter - with a lot of star formation still going on at its boarder with unperturbed galactic material.

Our Earth entered it about 5 million years ago, and is expected to exit the void in another 10 to 20 million years.

So, Earth's velocity with respect to the void is something like 1,000 light years/ (~20 million years) = 0.00005c.

Assuming the 1,000 supernovas were in the center of the void, and Earth is still maybe half-way to the center, that puts Earth about 250 light years + 14 million years x 0.00005c = ~950 light-years from 1,000 supernovas about 14 million years ago.

I am wondering if the high frequency EM radiation (UV to gamma rays) from that should have had any effects on Earth's climate, at that distance.

I think it was a good thing that Earth wasn't a lot closer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cdr. Shepard

Latest posts