Influence of supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, solar flares, and cosmic rays on the terrestrial environment
In Nick Bostrom and Milan M. Ćirković (eds.) Global catastrophic risks, Oxford, 2008
Abstract
This chapter examines credible threats to life on Earth from changes in global irradiation: solar flares, solar activity and global warming, supernova explosions, gamma-ray bursts, and cosmic ray bursts. The potential consequences of these events are explored, and their likelihood is assessed by examining whether such events could have caused some of the major mass extinctions that took place on planet Earth and were documented relatively well in the geological records of the past 500 million years. – AI-generated abstract
