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What If a Supernova Exploded Close to Earth?

What If | September 2, 2025



Twinkle, twinkle, little star. How I wonder what you, wait a minute, why are you twinkling so much? Um, guys, that’s no diamond in the sky. That looks like a supernova. As much as we love to blow stuff up here on Earth, no bombs or pyrotechnics could compare to the incredible force of nature’s biggest explosion, the supernova. As a star reaches its grand finale and explodes, what would happen to life on Earth if we were close by? How far away from a supernova are we considered safe? Could anything survive its deadly radiation? What makes supernovae valuable to us?

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Comments

This post currently has 21 comments.

  1. @Ama-hi5kn

    September 2, 2025 at 7:19 pm

    Hypothetically if there was to be a supernova explosion close to Earth, the preceding intense radiation effects would kill us all before the blast wave hits us.

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