All articles tagged with #local interstellar cloud
Scientists analyzed more than 300 kilograms of Antarctic ice and detected single atoms of iron-60, a radioactive fingerprint from a nearby supernova, suggesting interstellar dust from a stellar explosion traveled to Earth via the Local Interstellar Cloud and offering a new way to study our galactic neighborhood.
Scientists analyzed 40,000–80,000-year-old Antarctic ice and found iron-60, a radioactive byproduct of ancient supernovas, embedded in stardust likely carried through the Local Interstellar Cloud before reaching Earth. The results suggest interstellar dust from stellar explosions can penetrate the solar system, linking our solar neighborhood’s history to past supernovae and offering clues about how interstellar material interacts with our planet.
A new study detects iron-60 in Antarctic ice aged 40,000–80,000 years, tying Earth’s passage through the Local Interstellar Cloud to debris from a past supernova. Using accelerator mass spectrometry on hundreds of kilograms of ice and corroborating isotopes, researchers show the cloud around the Solar System contains material from an ancient stellar explosion, with the iron-60 signal varying over tens of thousands of years and supporting the idea that our cosmic neighborhood records such events.
Researchers analyzed 40,000–80,000-year-old Antarctic ice for the rare radioactive isotope iron-60 and found lower-than-expected levels, suggesting the Solar System has moved through interstellar cloud complexes (including the Local Interstellar Cloud) over the past 80,000 years. Using accelerator mass spectrometry to count iron-60 in ice samples, the study links variations in interstellar dust flux to the structure of nearby clouds, offering a new way to trace our solar neighborhood’s history—though the precise cloud origins and the amount of iron-60 remain subjects of debate.
Researchers, by melting Antarctic ice from the EPICA project and counting iron-60, found higher-than-background levels dating 40,000–81,000 years ago, suggesting the Solar System has moved through the Local Interstellar Cloud, sampling regions of interstellar dust from past supernovae and turning ice into a galactic time capsule.