Scientists find iron-60 in 81,000-year-old Antarctic ice, indicating supernova dust
Technology
Scientists just found iron-60, an isotope produced in exploding stars, in Antarctic ice that's up to 81,000 years old.
This means Earth has been moving through a cloud of supernova dust for tens of thousands of years.
Pretty wild to think our planet picked up bits of ancient star explosions along the way.
Iron-60 suggests local interstellar cloud transit
The find suggests these iron-60 particles are truly from outer space, not Earth.
It also shows the solar system may have been drifting through the Local Interstellar Cloud, a patchy region full of old supernova debris, for at least 80,000 years.
By studying these icy layers, scientists get a timeline of our planet's cosmic journey and learn more about what's floating around us in deep space.