Paper Boys

Episode 55

Can you find a supernova in Antarctic snow?

Radioactive iron may hold the clues...

Our planet is bombarded with tons of extraterrestrial dust every year. While much of the dust comes from asteroids, some of these particles may have come from supernovas - ancient stars that exploded nearly 20 million years ago! But finding this dust on Earth is tricky, and determining that the dust came from an exploding star is even tougher. This week Charlie takes on a new study from some “stellar” researchers who were up to the challenge. Thanks to Ben from Australia for the paper recommendation this week!

Check out the journal article available here and the NY Times article here.

Photo credit: Smithsonian

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