Considering that a supernova jettisons material 15,000 to 40,000 kilometers per ... | Hacker News

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Ma8ee on Oct 1, 2020 | parent | context | favorite | on: Stellar Explosion in Earth's Proximity

Considering that a supernova jettisons material 15,000 to 40,000 kilometers per second [0], it would only take a few decades for the material to reach earth from a star in earth's proximity, which I interpret as a few light years away.

[0] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/universe/su...

DrBazza on Oct 1, 2020 | [–]

Also, the material swept up from the supernova, by the Earth is of the order of hundreds of tons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_from_the_Skies!)

dredmorbius on Oct 1, 2020 | [–]

That would be 400--1,000 years for a supernova 50 light years distant, and clearly less for a closer event.

Astronomically and geologically an eyeblink.

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