Daily Mail confirms Fossil Record and galactic ray connection

Rays of life? Fossils show that life on Earth blossomed when nearby supernovas bathed our planet in cosmic radiation

• Rate of evolution 'dictated' by blasts of cosmic rays
• Study of fossils shows life 'bloomed' duruing periods of intense supernova explosions
• Long-term link between galactic events and climate

Supernova explosions when stars 'die' are among the most destructive events in the universe - but a new study suggests that the 'blast wave' from supernovae might have energised life on our planet

As our sun has 'spun' through the spiral arms of our galaxy, the Milky Way, it's passed near exploding stars - being 'bathed' with cosmic rays which caused life to explode all over our planet.
When supernovae explode, life has prospered. 'The evolution of life mirrors the evolution of the Galaxy,' says Prof Henrik Svensmark of the Technical University of Denmark

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When supernovae explode, life has prospered. 'The evolution of life mirrors the evolution of the Galaxy,' says Prof Henrik Svensmark of the Technical University of Denmark.

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Prof. Henrik Svensmark of the Technical University of Denmark says that when a supernova is close enough to the Solar System, galactic cosmic rays wash over the Earth.

As our sun has 'travelled' through the Milky Way, different star clusters have caused life to blossom - explosions in the Pleiades, for instance, caused diversity in undersea creatures called ammonites, often seen in fossils.

Prof. Svensmark looked back through 500 million years of geological and astronomical data and considered the proximity of the Sun to supernovae as it moves around our Galaxy, the Milky Way

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Comparing this with the geological record, he found that the changing frequency of nearby supernovae seems to have strongly shaped the conditions for life on Earth.

Whenever the Sun and its planets have visited regions of enhanced star formation in the Milky Way Galaxy, where exploding stars are most common, life has prospered.

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