LZ12656
- Recent measurements of soil samples brought back from the Moon by NASA astronauts suggest that a supernova may have exploded near our solar system 2 to 3 million years ago. Elevated radioactivity was detected in a sample from the lunar surface. This radioactivity is thought to represent debris from the supernova explosion that was deposited on the lunar surface as the debris passed through the solar system. Similar evidence for this event has previously been found in a rock sample recovered from deep in the Pacific Ocean on Earth. Supernova explosions are a relatively common event in the universe, but finding direct evidence of such an explosion on a planetary body is challenging. Explosion of a nearby supernova could have biological effects on Earth, and it is important to determine if Earth has in fact been subjected to such events in the past.
