Abstract
A dying massive star ends in a supernova explosion ejecting a large fraction of its mass into the interstellar medium. If this happens nearby, part of the ejecta might end on Solar System bodies and, in fact, radioactive has been detected on the Pacific ocean floor in about 2 Ma old layers. Here, we report on the detection of this isotope also in lunar samples, originating presumably from the same event. The concentration of the cosmic ray produced isotope , measured in the same samples, proves the supernova origin of the . From the concentrations found we deduce a reliable value for the local interstellar fluence in the range of . Thus, we obtain constraints on the recent and nearby supernova(e).
- Received 18 November 2015
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.151104
© 2016 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Synopsis
Supernova Footprint on the Moon
Published 13 April 2016
Lunar soil samples reveal an unusually high level of radioactive iron, which suggests a supernova in our vicinity within the last few million years.
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