Iron and Ice: Earth's Passage Through the Interstellar Cloud

Iron and Ice: Earth's Passage Through the Interstellar Cloud

Our Solar System is currently passing through the Local Interstellar Cloud, a region of highly diluted gas and dust between the stars. On its path, Earth continuously accumulates iron-60, a rare radioactive isotope of iron produced in stellar explosions. This has now been confirmed by an international research team led by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) through the analysis of Antarctic ice tens of thousands of years old. From th…

What do Antarctic ice cores reveal about iron-60?

Antarctic ice cores confirm iron 60 from interstellar space New findings using Antarctic ice cores indicate that Earth is accumulating iron 60 (Fe 60) originating from the local interstellar environment. The study frames the result within the idea that the solar system is currently passing through…

A Dead Star Has Been Dusting Earth With Radioactive Iron for 80,000 Years

Radioactive iron that can only be forged inside a dying star has been falling on Earth for at least 80,000 years, and the proof is locked inside a cylinder of Antarctic ice drilled from more than 2,000 metres below the surface. The iron in question is not the kind found in soil or rock. Iron-60 […] The post A Dead Star Has Been Dusting Earth With Radioactive Iron for 80,000 Years appeared first on Above The Norm News.