And you won't be safe on the other side of the planet. A massive shockwave, much like the aftershock of a nuclear explosion, will sweep across the globe. A wall of fire will roast every living thing on Earth -- well, except a few fish, that is. The Gamma Ray Burst will reset evolution.


And if that isn't enough to kill you, there will be the soot. High up in the atmosphere, the loose atoms will bind up into nitrogen dioxide, a brown, filthy gas that will blanket the Sun. We'll have a massive nuclear winter and die a horrible climate disaster death.

To make things worse, no one really knows how big the risks are. On the one hand, gamma ray bursts that damage our world are likely to happen once every 10 million years on average. That would mean our planet has survived many, many bursts in the prehistoric past.

On the other hand, it's hard to predict when the next GRB will hit us. Could be in million years time. Could be tomorrow.

I hope I'm not here when it hit's. I hope it never happens but like you said you never know what's going to happen or when it might happen. Lord help us all if it does.

Quote: "In fact, some of the blasts are bigger than the energy of all stars combined. "

This is impossible.

Second, why worry about things that might happen? You might get struck by lightning... you might get hit by a car... you might get eaten by a shark. (All of which have better odds of happening)

"Quote: "In fact, some of the blasts are bigger than the energy of all stars combined. "

This is impossible."

I agree - the author misstated part of this scenario. I wonder what the exact quote should be?

Then you need to wait to see...