Will a solar flare kill us all?

Will a solar flare kill us all?

A radio program apparently made a prediction that radiation from a large solar flare was going to devastate the Earth and possibly kill most of the life forms currently alive on the Earth. Fortunately, no matter what, flares do not have a significant effect on us here on Earth.

How close can a gamma ray burst destroy Earth?

A new study finds that the chances of a gamma ray burst going off in our galaxy and destroying life on Earth are comfortingly close to zero. Gamma ray bursts, or GRBs, are focused beams of gamma radiation emitted from the magnetic poles of black holes formed during the collapse of ancient, behemoth stars.

How powerful is a gamma ray burst?

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has given astronomers a peek at the location of the most energetic outburst ever seen in the universe — a blast of gamma-rays a trillion times more powerful than visible light.

How much energy is in a gamma ray burst?

The strongest explosions in the universe produce even more energetic radiation than previously known: Using specialised telescopes, two international teams have registered the highest energy gamma rays ever measured from so-called gamma-ray bursts, reaching about 100 billion times as much energy as visible light.

Should we worry about gamma ray burst?

So don’t worry. The chances of a gamma ray burst hitting Earth are minimal. In fact, astronomers have observed all the nearby gamma ray burst candidates, and none seem to be close enough or oriented to point their death beams at our planet. You’ll need to worry about your exercise and diet after all.

Can we see gamma ray bursts?

Astronomers estimate that, although satellites spot about one gamma-ray burst per day, roughly 500 are occurring within the same time period. So far, gamma-ray bursts have only been detected in distant galaxies. However, it is possible for one to occur in our Milky Way galaxy.