New Study Proposes that Cosmic Radiation Altered Virus Evolution in Africa – Universe Today

Space and astronomy news
Astronomers have known for some time that nearby supernovae have had a profound effect on Earth’s evolution. For starters, Earth’s deposits of gold, platinum, and other heavy metals are believed to have been distributed to Earth by ancient supernovae. The blasts of gamma rays released in the process can also significantly affect life, depleting nitrogen and oxygen in the upper atmosphere, depleting the ozone layer, and causing harmful levels of ultraviolet radiation to reach the surface. Given the number of near-Earth supernovae that have occurred since Earth formed 4.5 billion years ago, these events likely affected the evolution of life.
In a new paper by a team of astronomers from the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC), a nearby supernova may have influenced the evolution of life on Earth. According to their findings, Earth was pummeled by radiation from a nearby supernova about 2.5 million years ago. This burst of radiation was powerful enough to break apart the DNA of living creatures in Lake Tanganyika, the deepest body of water in Africa. This event, they argue, could be linked to an explosion in the number of viruses that occurred in the region.
How can we explore Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, to include its surface and subsurface ocean, with the goal of potentially discovering life as we know it? This is what a recent study presented at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2024 Fall Meeting hopes to address as a team of students and researchers proposed the Thermal Investigation of Geothermal Regions of Enceladus (TIGRE) mission concept, which is designed to conduct in-depth exploration of Enceladus with an orbiter, lander, and drill, while laying the groundwork for future missions to icy moons throughout the solar system.
Have you ever wondered how astronomers manage to map out the Milky Way when it’s so incredibly vast? One of the most powerful tools is something called 21cm radiation.
NASA astronomers have been continuing to monitor the trajectory of asteroid 2024 YR4. The initial calculations suggested a 1.3% probability of an Earth impact event, which temporarily increased to 3.1% as more data came in. However, and with a sigh of relief, recent analysis brings encouraging news: the Earth impact probability has decreased significantly to 0.28%, though calculations now show a 1% chance of lunar impact. Observations will continue with the James Webb Space Telescope so stay tuned. 
Some exoplanets have characteristics totally alien to our Solar System. Hot Jupiters are one such type. They can have orbital periods of less than 10 days and surface temperatures that can climb to well over 4,000 K (3,730 °C or 6,740 °F). Unlike any planets in our system, they’re usually tidally locked.
Astronomers probed the atmosphere of one hot Jupiter and found some strange winds blowing.
Stars form in Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs), vast clouds of mostly hydrogen that can span tens of light years. These stellar nurseries can form thousands of stars. Astronomers know this because they observe these regions in the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds and watch as stars take shape.
But the Universe is more than 13 billion years old and has been forming stars for almost that entire time. The early Universe was different in notable ways. Was star formation any different in the early Universe?
Let’s dive into one of those cosmic curiosities that’s bound to blow your mind: how we might chat with aliens. And no, I’m not talking about elaborate coded messages or flashy signals. We’re talking about something incredibly fundamental—21cm radiation.
The majority of the universe remains unmapped, but we have a potential window into it through a peculiar light emitted by nothing other than neutral hydrogen.
NASA engineers are pressing ahead with preparations for the Artemis II mission unless someone tells them otherwise. The ambitious flight will send four astronauts on a trajectory similar to Apollo 8’s historic lunar journey, with the crew traveling around the Moon in an Orion Capsule before returning to Earth. A crucial milestone in the mission preparations was reached as technicians completed the assembly of the Space Launch System’s twin solid rocket boosters inside the Vehicle Assembly Building. The stacking process began in late November 2024 and concluded on February 19th.

It’s not uncommon for space missions to be tested here on planet Earth. With the plethora of missions that have been sent to Mars it  is becoming increasingly likely that the red planet was once warmer, wetter and more habitable than it is today. To find evidence of this, a new paper proposes that Deception Island in Antarctica is one of the best places on Earth to simulate the Martian environment. The paper identifies 30 sites on the island that correspond well to places on Mars.

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