Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science » in reply to While this is not quite the same, of course...

Supernova destruction zone relatively small

According to something I just read on Centauri Dreams, most supernovae
are only dangerous at about 20 to 30 light years distance - huge on our
puny scales but small in a galactic sense. We would be in trouble if
Alpha Centauri blew up (or vice versa with Sol), but since none of the
stars in that system are massive enough, that is one less problem to
worry about.

Hypernovae can do damage up to several hundred light years, by which
I am taking to mean 200 to 300 light years maximum - and Betelgeuse
is farther than that. So hopefully all we will get is a very impressive
light show as Orion's shoulder ramps up.

Apparently within 70 light years, of the 2,000 or so stars in that area
around Sol, none are O or B class suns or bigger. So we're safe from
supernovae at least for a cosmic while.

Now we just have to worry about NEOs and alien invasions.

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