Supernova explosions near Earth, caused by the death of large stars, could be responsible for at least two events of mass extinction in the history of the earth. This is a study, published in the journal “Monthly Notices” by Royal Astronomical Society.

The two disappearance events occurred at the end of the deconstruction period and in the Ordovika period, ie 372 and 445 million years ago, respectively. These are two of the five well -known mass extinctions in the history of the earth. The first event disappeared about 70% of all kinds and led to huge changes in the species of fish in the seas and lakes. During the Ordovika period, respectively, 60% of marine invertebrates were killed at a time when life was largely confined to the sea. Previous research has not identified a clear reason for either of the two events, although they are believed to be linked to the exhaustion of the Earth’s ozone layer, which could be caused by a supernova.

According to researchers in the new study, the rhythm of supernova near Earth is in line with the times of both mass extinctions. They point out that these huge explosions may previously strip the atmosphere of our planet from ozone, cause acid rain and expose life to the harmful ultraviolet radiation of the sun.

Astronomers believe that about one or two supernova happens every century in galaxies like ours, but add that there are only two nearby stars that could become supernova over the next millions of years, Antaris and Betelge. However, both are more than 500 years of light from us and computer simulations have previously indicated that a supernova at this distance from Earth will probably not affect our planet.