In one fiery burst, an exploding nearby star millions of years ago may have helped change the course of life on Earth.
Upon its death, this supernova sent high-energy charged particles, called cosmic rays, racing across the universe. Now, a new study says those cosmic rays may have led to an uptick in wildfires across the globe by sparking lightning bolts. Those wildfires may in turn have altered our planet’s ecology at a key moment in humanity’s evolutionary history.
