How Closely Does a Supernova Explode Damage the Earth?

Supernova explosions, one of the most spectacular events in our universe, have attracted the attention of almost everyone who is interested in space. These huge explosions are powerful enough to destroy everything around them. Considering that there are countless stars around us, I have always thought about how they would make such a finale for us people.

First of all, there are two ways a star can become a supernova. The first of these are stars that have a much greater mass than our Sun and have much shorter lifetimes than other stars. Along with these, white dwarfs in the binary star system can also create supernovae.

What is the safe distance for our Earth to be protected from a supernova?

Made in Midjourney.

According to NASA, the distance required for Earth to avoid the harmful effects of a supernova is 50 light-years. Of course, there are some negative effects that will affect the Earth at distances above 50 light-years, but it seems unlikely that we will survive a close supernova explosion at this distance.

For example, if a supernova occurs about 25 light-years from Earth, our planet will lose all of its atmosphere and life as we know it will perish. Let’s put your mind at ease at this point: There are no stars near Earth that would cause such an explosion.

50 years apart, only 1 star explodes in the Milky Way Galaxy, turning into a supernova.

Considering that the Milky Way Galaxy contains between 200 and 400 billion stars, you might think that supernovas are very rare explosions. However, when we consider the entire universe, it is thought that 30 supernova explosions occur on average every second. This shows us how large a place the universe is.

The Earth is located in a region called the “Local Bubble”.

The Local Bubble, an area about 30 light-years wide, is a special peanut-like area within the Solar System. This area is thought to have formed as a result of a supernova explosion as recently as 10 million years ago.

In fact, there are high-energy gases from the supernova around this bubble that protects us by cleaning many things around us. If there is another supernova explosion near us, these gases can come to Earth with the effect of the explosion and increase the amount of high-energy radiation.

Between 1.7 and 3.2 million years ago, a supernova explosion occurred 325 light-years away.

Although this explosion was far from us, its effects were felt. Due to this explosion, which took place 6.5 times further from the danger zone, some iron from the core of the star reached our planet. We can still observe traces of this eruption on the ocean floor.

No supernova in known human history is known to explode within 50 light years. In 1987, a supernova named Supernova 1987A was observed. However, this explosion took place at a distance of about 168,000 light years from our planet.

As Carl Sagan said: Actually, we are all stardust.

Calcium in our teeth, oxygen that we constantly need to live, iron in our blood and more. The elements that make up us and everything around us were actually produced in stars (everything except Hydrogen). Especially big stars that will go into supernova form heavier elements such as lead, gold and uranium, apart from relatively lighter elements such as oxygen towards the end of their lives.

Then, with a huge explosion, all these ready elements are scattered into the interstellar medium. The elements on our Earth, too, from the gold ring on our finger to carbon, one of the basic building blocks of life, were produced inside a star.

It is comforting to all humanity that there is no expectation of a supernova explosion that will harm the Earth in the near future. However, it would be very nice to see a supernova explosion with our own eyes. The Betelgeuse Star is constantly being observed, although it’s unclear exactly when it will explode, but is expected to go supernova in the near future. Betelgeuse, which is 642 light-years away, will not harm the Earth when it explodes. Of course, the visual feast it creates will be magnificent.

Sources: ESO Supernova, EarthSky, Business Insider