Can A Star Exploding Cause Damage On Earth?
Space is filled with billions of stars, all of which will eventually reach the end of their life. For many of them, this means exploding in a very dramatic fashion.
There are several ways that a star can explode including supernovas, Type Ia supernovas, kilonova, hypernovae, and more. All of these are basically just ways to distinguish how or why the star exploded, how powerful the explosion was, and what type of energy was emitted.
So, with so many stars out there and so many types of explosions, are we at risk here on Earth? That all depends on how close the star is, and what type of explosion occurs.
If our own star, the sun, experiences any type of explosion, we will certainly go extinct. In fact, the Earth may very well get sucked into the explosion, or jetted out of orbit. Either way, we don’t have a chance.
Fortunately, this isn’t expected to happen for another 5.4 billion years, so we have some time to prepare. Also, our sun isn’t large enough to go supernovae or explode. Instead, as it runs out of hydrogen to burn, it will swell up and expand, possibly engulfing the Earth.
In order for a star to go supernova, it has to be at least eight times as massive as our own sun. While there is no shortage of stars this large, they have to be close enough to pose a threat.
This is because the effect a supernova has on the Earth follows the inverse square law. This means that a star 100 light-years away would have just one-tenth the impact power on Earth as one that is 20 light-years away.
So, while space is terrifyingly huge, it is just this size that lends us the most protection.
Still, there are some stars that could impact us here on Earth.
IK Pegasi
One example is called IK Pegasi, which is around 150 light-years away. It is part of a binary system, so it could someday become a Type Ia supernova.
If that happens, the explosion is close enough to cause some impact to our atmosphere and possibly damage the ozone layer, resulting in increased UV radiation getting through from our own sun. Dangerous, but hardly catastrophic. Also, we have many millions of years before this happens.
Betelgeuse
Another candidate is the star Betelgeuse, which is much further away at 650 light-years, but also much larger. It is a red supergiant, and this one is actually nearing the end of its life. Experts disagree, but estimates say it could go supernova anytime between now and the next several tens of thousands of years.
The event would be visible from Earth with the naked eye, and would last for several weeks or months. Due to its distance, however, the threat to our atmosphere is minimal and the threat to live on Earth is almost non-existent.
Spica
The star Spica is about 260 light-years away and is also a binary system with two massive stars. What makes this system a particular threat is that if they go supernova while their axis points are directed at Earth, the gamma radiation emitted could cause serious problems to life on our planet.
Gamma radiation is emitted over just a few degrees on each axis point, making this very unlikely. Also, these stars have millions of years of life left in them, so they are nothing to worry about.
So, while exploding stars are very interesting and can teach us a lot about space, science, and other things, they really aren’t a threat to the Earth. At least not at this point and not that we know of.
Thankfully, these exploding stars are very far away.
If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about a second giant hole has opened up on the sun’s surface. Here’s what it means.

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