what if Alpha Centauri went supernova a
supernova is a cataclysmic event when a
star dies in a massive explosion and
Alpha Centauri is easily the nearest
star system to our own so what would
happen if one of its stars went critical
this is unveiled and today we're
answering the extraordinary question
what if Alpha Centauri went supernova
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fascinating content when a star reaches
critical mass either over time or by
absorbing mass from elsewhere it goes
supernova and releases gamma rays and
neutrinos in bursts of radiation the
light from a single supernova can
briefly outshine an entire galaxy such
as the incredible amount of energy it
produces every second scientists measure
that energy in units called foes our Sun
releases just over 1 foe in its lifetime
but supernovae can expel a foe every few
seconds which is pretty devastating for
any planet or anything nearby in fact
you have to be up to a hundred light
years away from a supernova just to be
considered safe so at just over 4 light
years away Alpha Centauri is well within
striking distance of earth but the
distance between us and it also means if
one of alpha Centauri's 3 stars went
boom it would take about four years for
earth to see it in reality the likely of
any Alpha Centauri star exploding is
extremely low because none of them have
enough mass but if this kind of reaction
ever did happen to our galactic ly
speaking next-door neighbor then earth
is in dire trouble the deadly radiation
leaving the supernova travels quickly
but only at a fraction of the speed of
light so we would see the explosion
before we felt it
leaving us with perhaps decades to
prepare for its arrival not that there's
much we could do once here the mix of
different rays and energy would
eradicate the ozone layer and quickly
start destroying life all around the
world the southern hemisphere would be
hit first but only just and the rest of
the planet would quickly follow suit
soon any one or thing on Earth's surface
is bombarded with charged particles and
thanks to the now lack of ozone layer
all
new levels of UV it's mass extinction of
life as we know it
maybe deep-sea creatures survive but
even they could be wiped out
aside from radiation the now unprotected
earth quickly heats up the death and
destruction is so widespread that even
the likes of oxygen producing plankton
are now critically endangered so even
the air we breathe changes with nitrous
oxide forming in an atmosphere that's
turned into a blanket of toxic smog in
some ways it had be like the effects of
global warming put on fast-forward the
suddenly increased solar exposure melts
the ice caps causing massive flooding to
change the world map forever in time the
seas boil away turning earth into a dry
husk like Mars or mercury by now we're
long dead but everything actually in
Alpha Centauri would fare far worse than
our own solar system at such a close
proximity to the supernova the effects
including the emission of almost
immeasurably superheated atoms would hit
nearby planets moons and asteroids in a
matter of minutes rather than years
depending on which of the three stars
goes supernova
some planets could even be completely
absorbed by the expanding exploding mass
once the quite considerable dust settles
the remaining celestial bodies would
drift off aimlessly no longer with
anything to orbit around it all sounds
pretty violent but a supernova brings
some spectacular views as well as a
supernova Alpha Centauri could glow
almost half as bright as our own Sun
during the day at night it had generate
light thousands of times brighter than
our moon it'd be the light show to end
all light shows only with the caveat of
Earth's own impending doom the natural
beauty could force through other changes
first though on a relatively small scale
the endless light would wreak havoc with
our circadian rhythms and severely
damage our eyesight yes it might not
especially matter given that we'd all be
helplessly waiting for immense radiation
to hit but it would at least contribute
to the growing chaos in fact the deadly
mix of radiation dramatic climate change
and eternal light has fueled speculation
that earthly life could actually rapidly
mutate in a desperate bid to adapt on
the plus side it's thought that a
near-earth supernova is something that's
happened before with science suggesting
that they occur within 33 light-years of
us once every 240 million years so earth
itself can
would survive there are theories that
the last one triggered a mass extinction
but there's also speculation that it
happened so long ago that the effects of
another star supernova were actually
what turned our planet into a life
supporting environment in the first
place so it's a question of extremes
we're the closest star system to our own
to explode it could be the ultimate end
of days or the beginning of a literally
bright completely unpredictable future
and that's what would happen if Alpha
Centauri went supernova what do you
think is there anything we missed
let us know in the comments check out
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