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	Scientists are particularly interested in Saturn's moon Titan because it's one of the few known moons with its own dense atmosphere. Titan's atmosphere is also thought to be very similar to what Earth's atmosphere was a long time ago. By learning about Titan, we'll learn about our own planet.

This site is no longer maintained. It contains historical data.

For current information about the NASA Astrobiology Program, please visit http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/

1999-08-03 | SCIENCE
Nearby Supernova May Have Caused Mini-Extinction

Radioactive material in deep-sea sediments could be remnants of a supernova 5 million years ago. Cosmic rays from the explosion may have drastically increased cloud cover and reduced ozone in theÂ atmosphere.

Understanding how evolution is affected by factors from beyond Earth (such as nearby stellar explosions and asteroid or comet impacts) is an important focus of astrobiology.

More on this story Full text of original item from Science Daily, Aug 03, 1999

Aug 09, 1999 (Space.com)
Killer Supernova May Have Left Clues Behind

Aug 01, 1999 (Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
Evidence for a Near-Earth Supernova Explosion

Jul 10, 1999 (Science News Online)
Seabed Yields Mark of Nearby Supernova

Jul 07, 1999 (BBC)
'Star Material' Recovered from South Pacific

Jul 05, 1999 (Physical Review Letters)
Indication for Supernova Produced ⁶⁰Fe Activity on Earth
Scientific paper. Highly technical.

Nov 29, 1998 (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
On Deep-Ocean Fe-60 as a Fossil of a Near-Earth Supernova
Scientific paper. Highly technical.

Related news stories

May 13, 2002 | SCIENCE
Cosmic Catastrophe
(BBC) - A scientist believes that an exploding star will one day wipe out life on Earth.

Mar 14, 2002 | SCIENCE
Exploding Star May Have Sparked Earth Disaster
(CNN) - Scientists argue that a nearby supernova caused a mini-extinction of marine life 2 million years ago.

Jan 09, 2002 | SCIENCE
Radiation from Space May Affect Biological Evolution
(UT Austin) - Bursts of radiation from the Sun, from supernovae, or from deep space might wipe out life on other planets. Then again, they might speed up life's evolution.

Jan 13, 1996 | SCIENCE
Did Cancer Kill the Dinosaurs?
(New Scientist) - Collapsing stars might release enough neutrinos to sicken animals on planets light-years away.

Jan 13, 1995 | SCIENCE
Exploding Star May Have Caused Earthly Extinctions
(AP) - Radiation from a nearby supernova may have devasted life on Earth 225 million years ago.

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