Access
This article is part of Nature's premium content.
Published online 24 September 2003 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news030922-7
News
Gamma-ray burst linked to mass extinction
440-million-year-old fossils hint at cosmic explosion.
Some 440 million years ago, a nearby gamma-ray burst may have extinguished much of life on Earth, say US astronomers1.
Adrian Melott, of the University of Kansas in Lawrence, and colleagues reckon that the fossil record of the end of the Ordovician period fits with how such a cosmic explosion a few thousand light years away could have altered the environment.
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
Comments
Reader comments are usually moderated after posting. If you find something offensive or inappropriate, you can speed this process by clicking 'Report this comment' (or, if that doesn't work for you, email webadmin@nature.com). For more controversial topics, we reserve the right to moderate before comments are published.
There are currently no comments.
