Supernova near earth?

Question

What would happen if our nearest star(Ithink it's Alpha Centauri) would go supernova?

Answer 1

Most people told you Alpha Centauri couldn't supernova, and they're right.

BUT, if it WERE to supernova (hypothetically speaking), since its only 4.3 light years away, some possible consequences:
- it would be much brighter in our skies than our sun, visible in the daytime - in fact, we would cast 2 shadows, one from our sun and one from Alpha Centauri. We would cast a shadow at night, and probably could read a book by that light
- the X-rays, gamma rays, ultraviolet and infrared radiation would destroy all life on our world, evaporate the oceans, and possibly damage the gas giants, maybe even evaporate their atmospheres
- in a few thousand years when the debris shell from the supernova reached our system, some of the matter would be captured by our sun, increasing its mass and therefore its temperature and shortening its lifetime on the main sequence
- the debris field, if thick enough, would disturb the orbits of many objects in the Oort cloud and Kuiper Belt, causing a higher incidence of meteor and comet bombardment of the inner system - it could also affect the orbits of the outer planets, which could affect the entire solar system

Answer 2

Alpha Centauri is 4.3 light years away, but it is too small to go supernova. To go supernova a star must be 10 to 20 times bigger than the sun, and nothing in our area is - the nearest is probably Betelguese, which is 50000 light years away.

To die from the blast of a supernova you would have to be close, perhaps 10 light years. But, the danger from one farther away would be cosmic rays, which could overwhelm the magnetosphere, which protects us from rays from space.

I just happened to read this a few days ago in Bryson's book, "A Short History of Nearly Everything"

Answer 3

Betelgeuse and Antares are the nearest pink tremendous massive stars, both truly one of that are going to flow off as a center cave in supernovae ultimately. although, they're no longer the nearest in call for man or woman that would explode as a supernova, IK Pegasi is at a distance of one hundred and fifty mild year the closet in call for man or woman which will explode as a supernova. It includes a huge a million.2 image voltaic mass white dwarf in common words 19 million miles from an A-variety significant series in call for human being. even as that stat expands right into a pink massive, that is going to push the white dwarf's mass upwards till electron degeneracy can no longer oppose gravity. The in call for human being will cave in, runaway nuclear reactions commence interior the middle, then they devour the completed white dwarf which will then explode as a form 1A supernova. For a supernova to do intense damage to us, it may ought to flow off interior of 30 mild years, perhaps 50 mild years at maximum. Farther away, we may be bombarded through a lot extra x-rays, gamma rays and cosmic rays than favourite which could have an result upon the elements. Betelgeuse and Antares will pose no probability to us even as they explode, yet they'll light up the sky brighter than an finished moon even as they do flow supernova.

Answer 4

we would get a high dose of x-ray and gamma radiation if a star would go Supernova nearby. Depending on its severity its believed that it might has an effect on the upper atmosphere, maybe weakening the atmospheres protecting layers shielding us from the same radiation coming from the sun.
We would die sooner or later from it, diectly or for the loss of an element in the food-chain as a result of this.
But as lucky as we think we are the nearest stars are all kind of stable for at least our lifespan.

Answer 5

the biggest of the 26 nearest stars to earth is Sirius A, 8.6 light years, a little more than 2 solar masses, so it can't go supernova, it will go in nearly 1 billion years to supergiant, than it will became a white dwarf, like its companion Sirius B.

Answer 6

I don't think alpha centauri is big enough to even go nova. Only large stars undergo this kind of drastic collapse and explosion, and only supermassive stars have the kind of mass to go supernova. I don't think (someone knowledgeable please correct me if I am misinformed) there are any such stars near enuff our system to do us real harm.

Answer 7

If a super nova occurred that close the neutrino radiation would likely kill all life on earth.

Answer 8

nothing to damm far away light years away as far as we know could of done this 20 years ago

Answer 9

We'd probably be all killed by the radiation.

Answer 10

most probably pluto would be sucked in .