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posted 19. April 2006 23:34
Source: Astrobiology Magazine
Paragraphs 6 and 7
In the new study, which Stanek and his coauthors submitted to the Astrophysical Journal, they found that GRBs tend to occur in small, misshapen galaxies that lack heavy chemical elements (astronomers often refer to all elements other than the very lightest ones -- hydrogen, helium, and lithium -- as metals). Even among metal-poor galaxies, the events are rare -- astronomers only detect a GRB once every few years.
But the Milky Way is different from these GRB galaxies on all counts -- it's a large spiral galaxy with lots of heavy elements.
Read the article at Astrobiology Magazine to find out why GRBs are an unlikely candidates for extinction level events on Earth
[ 20. April 2006, 10:15: Message edited by: ISCID News Editor ]
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