Terrestrial effects of moderately nearby supernovae

TL;DR

This paper reviews the potential terrestrial effects of nearby supernovae in Earth's history, exploring how such cosmic events may have influenced biological changes during the Pleistocene and Miocene epochs.

Contribution

It provides a detailed computational analysis of supernova effects on Earth, integrating new data about supernovae and their distances to better understand past biological impacts.

Findings

Supernovae could have caused significant atmospheric and biological effects.

Recent data refines the understanding of supernova distances and their potential impact.

The study links supernova events to possible biological and environmental changes.

Abstract

Recent data indicate one or more moderately nearby supernovae in the early Pleistocene, with additional events likely in the Miocene. This has motivated more detailed computations, using new information about the nature of supernovae and the distances of these events to describe in more detail the sorts of effects that are indicated at the Earth. This short communication/review is designed to describe some of these effects so that they may possibly be related to changes in the biota around these times.