What if all stars exploded simultaneously?

Well, do you want to watch natural fireworks? Then, you might think about supernovas. So, what if all stars exploded simultaneously?

Supernovas

First, when you talk about this topic, you’d probably want to know what’s a supernova. This gigantic explosion is due to a massive star’s death. Sun can’t go supernova because it needs to be at least 8 times more massive. At that condition, Earth wouldn’t be habitable.

When a massive star expands in volume, the core is getting smaller because of gravity and creates higher pressure. This allows the star to fuse heavier elements. Then, when their core is iron and cannot fuse in that condition, it collapses in on itself and become a neutron star. Finally, the star suddenly emits a shock wave that pushes the materials outward. That is what supernovas look like, and they emit intense gamma-rays and X-rays that can harm life even at a few light years away.

Then, what if all stars exploded simultaneously?

If you read the text above, you will notice the question has some problems. To do that, you need a switch in gravity. If you switched it to zero, uh-oh. You would get These Consequences. And if you changed it to a few times more powerful, this would be possible. Once the gravity is enough for every star to go supernova, we’d be in grave danger.

First of all, we would be fried since gravity has pulled our star tight and creates more heat and light. Then, even though you managed to get places far away, like Europa, you’d still be bathing in excessive UV rays.

Then, if you could set a timer to the Universe and command all stars to explode simultaneously, you would see the effects right away. Some stars would appear in the sky since their luminosity increased. After that…… Boom! Upon this time, stars would gradually be brighter than Sun when added up. After strolling on the garden, we would get severe sunburns since the supernovas also emit a lot of UV, X and gamma-rays.

And don’t forget Sun. It would look exceptionally bright because of the propinquity to Earth. We are only 1 astronomical unit from our star, which is very perilous when it comes to a supernova. Their tremendous rays can make life up to 50 light years away go extinct. At an astronomical unit from the epicenter, the light would instantly vaporize Earth, like a laser versus a grain of sand

So, that’s dangerous for life and the person who initiated that probably would be regret if the person managed to escape. If not, the Universe would be lifeless, let alone humans. Who knows? There could also form new life forms as the materials reunited.

Curious question: What if Sun was a neutron star?

Okay. What if our star became a neutron star after this catastrophic event? It would not be good, either. Although a neutron star have approximately the same luminosity, it is much more massive. If that happened, all the planets would be written off and pulled to the neutron star unless they caught up with the increased gravity.

And, it would be more fortunate if it wasn’t a magnetar. You’d probably ask, “What’s a magnetar?” It is a type of neutron star that is much more magnetic than a normal one. It could disrupt your body’s atoms and pull them off if it got well closer than a lunar distance.

But, a magnetar can destroy life on Earth from light years away. This phenomenon is starquakes. They occur when a neutron star’s crust, especially a magnetar, undergoes sudden change and releases a lot of energy. The power of this is comparable to a supernova, and it can ionize our atmosphere, rendering Earth uninhabitable.

Anyway, we should be grateful that supernovas and magnetars exist as supernovas create necessary elements, and magnetars are a by-product. We can hope these events wouldn’t come in the nearby interstellar space to ensure that they are harmless to Earth.