In space, there are several situations that can endanger planets like Earth, such as asteroids or black holes, among others. But now, using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes, astronomers have identified a new threat.

This is a phase where intense X-rays from exploding stars occur they can affect planets more than 100 light-years away. This result has implications for the study of exoplanets and their habitability, NASA said in a statement.

This newly discovered threat comes from the shock wave from a supernova hitting the dense gas around the exploded star, as seen in the upper right corner of our artist’s impression. When this impact occurs, it can produce a large dose of X-rays that reaches an Earth-like planet months to years after the explosion (shown at lower left, illuminated by its star that has disappeared from view) and can last for decades. Such intense exposure could trigger an extinction event on the planet.

A new study reporting on this threat draws on X-ray observations of 31 supernovae and their aftermaths, mainly from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, ESA’s Swift and NuSTAR and XMM-Newton missions, showing that the planets could be subjected to lethal doses of radiation about 160 light-years away.

Before that, most research on the effects of supernova explosions has focused on the danger of two periods: the intense radiation produced by a supernova in the days and months after the explosion, and the energetic particles that arrive hundreds or thousands of years later.

If a deluge of X-rays hurtles over a nearby planet, the radiation could seriously alter the planet’s atmospheric chemistry. For an Earth-sized planet, this process could remove a significant portion of the ozone, which ultimately protects life from dangerous ultraviolet radiation from its host star. It could also lead to the demise of a wide variety of organisms, especially marine organisms at the bottom of the food chain, leading to extinction, he explains. Europe Press.

After years of lethal exposure to X-rays from the interaction of the supernova and the impact of ultraviolet radiation from an Earth-like planet’s host star, a large amount of nitrogen dioxide can be produced, which causes a brown haze in the atmosphere. “Greening” of land masses can also occur due to damage to plants.

4 of 31 supernovae in the study. POT

There is strong evidence, including the detection in various parts of the world of a type of radioactive iron, that there were supernovae near Earth between 2 and 8 million years ago. The researchers estimate that these supernovae were between 65 and 500 light-years from Earth.

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While Earth and the solar system are currently in safe space in terms of possible supernova explosions, many other planets in the galaxy are not. These high-energy events would effectively shrink the regions within the Milky Way galaxy, known as the galactic habitable zone, where conditions would be conducive to life as we know it.

Because X-ray observations of supernovae are rare, especially of the highly interacting variety, the authors push for follow-up observations of interacting supernovae for months and years after the explosion.