Jan 2, 2023 05:51 AM
(This post was last modified: Jan 2, 2023 05:40 PM by C C.)
Water from the Sun has been found on the Moon
https://www.sciencealert.com/water-from-...n-the-moon
INTRO: A new analysis of dust retrieved from the Moon suggests that water bound up in the lunar surface could originate with the Sun.
More specifically, it could be the result of bombardment of hydrogen ions from the solar wind, slamming into the lunar surface, interacting with mineral oxides, and bonding with the dislodged oxygen. The result is water that could be hiding in the lunar regolith in significant quantities at mid and high latitudes.
This has implications for our understanding of the provenance and distribution of water on the Moon – and may even be relevant to our understanding of the origins of water on Earth... (MORE - details)
Newfound kind of supernova can tear apart a planet's atmosphere
https://www.space.com/new-supernova-type...atmosphere
EXCERPT: . . . Based on the threats posed by gamma-rays and cosmic rays, astronomers have already concluded that we are relatively safe; there are no nearby supernova candidates that can pose a threat to life on Earth.
But astronomers have found a new potential danger, which they described in a paper posted to the preprint database arXiv in October: A certain class of supernova can release an extra, long-distance form of deadly radiation that poses a serious danger to Earth-like planets.
This special class of supernova occurs when a star approaching the end of its life is surrounded by a thick disk of material. After the initial supernova explosion, a shock wave forms and slams into that disk. The shock wave heats the disk to incredibly high temperatures, which causes the disk to emit high amounts of X-ray radiation.
This radiation can carry away large amounts of energy and travel extremely long distances. In the recent study, the astronomers found that the brightest X-ray supernovas can overwhelm a planet's ozone layer, depleting it by as much as 50%, which is more than enough to trigger an extinction event, out to an incredible distance of 150 light-years.
These kinds of supernovas would create a deadly one-two punch. Months or years after the initial outburst, a vulnerable planet would be pummeled by X-rays. Then, hundreds or thousands of years later, the cosmic rays would come, finishing the job before the biosphere had a chance to recover and replenish its protective layer.
Thankfully, Earth remains safe, as we know of no candidate X-ray supernova nearby. But this new study places further limits on the galactic habitable zone, the region in each galaxy that can support life. In the outermost reaches of a galaxy, star formation is too low to build up the necessary ingredients for rocky planets. But the dense cores, where stars live and die at a frenetic pace, are also deadly, because frequent supernovas flood their surroundings with radiation.... (MORE - missing details)
https://www.sciencealert.com/water-from-...n-the-moon
INTRO: A new analysis of dust retrieved from the Moon suggests that water bound up in the lunar surface could originate with the Sun.
More specifically, it could be the result of bombardment of hydrogen ions from the solar wind, slamming into the lunar surface, interacting with mineral oxides, and bonding with the dislodged oxygen. The result is water that could be hiding in the lunar regolith in significant quantities at mid and high latitudes.
This has implications for our understanding of the provenance and distribution of water on the Moon – and may even be relevant to our understanding of the origins of water on Earth... (MORE - details)
Newfound kind of supernova can tear apart a planet's atmosphere
https://www.space.com/new-supernova-type...atmosphere
EXCERPT: . . . Based on the threats posed by gamma-rays and cosmic rays, astronomers have already concluded that we are relatively safe; there are no nearby supernova candidates that can pose a threat to life on Earth.
But astronomers have found a new potential danger, which they described in a paper posted to the preprint database arXiv in October: A certain class of supernova can release an extra, long-distance form of deadly radiation that poses a serious danger to Earth-like planets.
This special class of supernova occurs when a star approaching the end of its life is surrounded by a thick disk of material. After the initial supernova explosion, a shock wave forms and slams into that disk. The shock wave heats the disk to incredibly high temperatures, which causes the disk to emit high amounts of X-ray radiation.
This radiation can carry away large amounts of energy and travel extremely long distances. In the recent study, the astronomers found that the brightest X-ray supernovas can overwhelm a planet's ozone layer, depleting it by as much as 50%, which is more than enough to trigger an extinction event, out to an incredible distance of 150 light-years.
These kinds of supernovas would create a deadly one-two punch. Months or years after the initial outburst, a vulnerable planet would be pummeled by X-rays. Then, hundreds or thousands of years later, the cosmic rays would come, finishing the job before the biosphere had a chance to recover and replenish its protective layer.
Thankfully, Earth remains safe, as we know of no candidate X-ray supernova nearby. But this new study places further limits on the galactic habitable zone, the region in each galaxy that can support life. In the outermost reaches of a galaxy, star formation is too low to build up the necessary ingredients for rocky planets. But the dense cores, where stars live and die at a frenetic pace, are also deadly, because frequent supernovas flood their surroundings with radiation.... (MORE - missing details)