Explore cosmic threats to Earth, including magnetic field flips, meteorite impacts, and supernovae, and their potential impact on human evolution and Neanderthal extinction. Were ancient humans affected?
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Evidence of this geomagnetic excursion, known as the Laschamp event, can be found in ancient lava flows, which contain unusually high ratios of certain isotopes caused by increased levels of cosmic rays.
Specifically, the slowed seismic rays may be a result of lighter elements in the outer core, study co-author Hrvoje Tkalčić, a geophysicist at Australian National University, said in a statement.
