A team of scientistshas determinedthat Earth was hit by a massive gamma ray burst — the most powerful explosion known in the Universe — all the direction back in AD 775 .
Last yr , researcher give away ancient cedarwood tree diagram in Japan that contained strange levels of radioactive carbon-14 , as well as spike of beryllium-10 in Antarctic ice . By analyzing the tree mob and using ice - nitty-gritty data , the researchers pinned the presence of both sets of irradiation to the years AD 774 and advertising 775 .
These kind of radioactive isotopes are created when intense radiation hits atoms in the upper standard atmosphere of our satellite . Now , the BBC reports , scientist advise that they are a result of a massive gamma - beam salvo which hit the planet during Medieval time . Professor Ralph Neuhauser , from the Institute of Astrophysics at the University of Jena , explains :
“ We look in the spectra of short da Gamma - beam of light burst to estimate whether this would be coherent with the production charge per unit of carbon-14 and beryllium-10 that we observed – and [ we regain ] that is to the full consistent … . Gamma - light beam bursts are very , very explosive and energetic events , and so we think from the energy what would be the distance founder the energy observe . Our ending was it was 3,000 to 12,000 light - years by – and this is within our galaxy . ”
Such a flare-up sound dramatic , and it has certainly left an abiding impact , but our gothic antecedent might not have noticed it : most of the radiation syndrome would have been suck by the atmospheric state and then made its way to the planet ’s surface over a recollective period of fourth dimension . Sadly , there would have been no blind newsbreak of intense visible light to signal the burst , either — but it ’s amazing to find out that a once - in - a - million - years event shook the major planet so late . [ BBC ]
Image by ESA
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