Antarktisk is avslöjar att jorden passerar genom rester från en supernova

14 maj 2026

Rapporterad av AI

Forskare har upptäckt spår av järn-60 i upp till 80 000 år gammal antarktisk is, vilket visar att solsystemet rör sig genom material från en uråldrig stjärnexplosion. Resultaten kommer från en studie publicerad i Physical Review Letters och pekar ut det lokala interstellära molnet som källan till den radioaktiva isotopen.

Ett internationellt team från Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf ledde analysen av iskärnor som samlats in genom det europeiska EPICA-projektet. Proverna, som bildades för mellan 40 000 och 80 000 år sedan, innehöll lägre halter av järn-60 än nyare mätningar. Denna isotop bildas endast vid supernovaexplosioner och hade tidigare påträffats i yngre snö och sediment, vilket gjort dess ursprung oklart fram till nu.

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