From: Forrest Bishop (forrestb@ix.netcom.com)
Date: Sun Mar 16 1997 - 14:18:04 MST
Paul Dietz, Michael Lorrey, Curt Adams wrote:
>>
>> Is a relatively (pardon the pun) nearby, but beyond the lethal
radius (say
>> 2000 light-years) neutron star binary collapse a plausible cause for
mass
>> extinctions?
..
>
>That technicium levels in molybdenum deposits indicate the existence
of
>such gamma ray bursters in our own geological past (supposedly the
late
>cretaceous), .....
I wonder if candidate radioactive decay products have or can be found
at the boundaries of the really big extinctions (e.g Permian).
..
>preserves, possibly in the cores of asteroids or dead moons like our
>own. Several hundred miles of solid rock in every direction should be
>enough sheilding against anything two neutron stars can cook up from
>several hundred light years away.
It is speculated that half the Earth's biomass consists of single-cell
organisms living in the crust, to depths of several kilometers.
These critters would survive even nearby events, and might provide seed
stock for the next expansion and evolution of surface life. This kind
of life might be universal.
Forrest
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