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The Conversation
Francis Thackeray, Honorary Research Associate, Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand

Supernova theory links an exploding star to global cooling and human evolution

Artist's impression of a supernova. By ESO/M. Kornmesser/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

What’s the link between an exploding star, climate change and human evolution? Francis Thackeray, who has researched ancient environments and fossils for many years, sets out his ideas about what happened in the distant past – with enormous consequences.

Global cooling that happened millions of years ago was thought to be the result of ocean currents. He suggests instead it could have been due to the impacts of remnants of supernovae. The timing of supernovae, climate changes and species evolution coincides.

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