Gamma ray bursts (GRBs) are the most energetic event known in the universe. An interesting thing about these events is that they currently pose a potential threat to mankind’s existence. Here we will talk about what exactly GRBs are and how they’re caused, as well as what kind of potential dangers they present to the earth and life as we know it.
Gamma ray bursts are two brilliant ejections of light, and gamma radiation. They are caused by the deaths of large stars. When a star is big enough, it collapses and dies as a supernova. During the collapse of the star, it spins at an immeasurably fast rate, and the star becomes flattened like a disc. Since the energy of the star cannot be freely released, two extremely bright beams of gamma radiation are expelled from each end of the star’s rotational axis. These beams of energy are so powerful, that in within about ten seconds of expulsion, they will release more energy and radiation than our sun will release in its entire lifetime. Some of them can last from a second up to several hours long. An alternative way of gamma ray bursts being produced is when two neutron stars, orbiting each other, merge together. A neutron star merger has only recently been
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If a burst passed within a hundred million miles from our planet, it would entirely rip away the ozone layer, causing harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun to enter our atmosphere. It would also cause a photochemical smog in the atmosphere, which could possibly block off direct sunlight, generate acidic rains, and cause a cosmic winter. It is believed that a GRB was responsible for some of the past mass extinction events on Earth. If a gamma ray burst were to hit the sun, the sun would absorb the energy, and cause gravitational disruption throughout the entire solar system. If that were to happen, the orbits of planets could become unpredictable, and planets would likely collide with each