# Effects of GRB on Stars **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 6, 2015, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effects-of-grb-on-stars/727169 "2015-08-06T16:51:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![halfreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@halfreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/halfreal)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effects-of-grb-on-stars/727169/1 "2015-08-06T16:51:29Z")
What happens to a star when it’s hit by a massive blast of EM energy, like from a nearby gamma-ray burst? ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effects-of-grb-on-stars/727169/2 "2015-08-06T18:31:27Z")
It doesn’t even notice. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effects-of-grb-on-stars/727169/3 "2015-08-06T21:15:33Z")
It just gets bigger and stronger and _angry_ ? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effects-of-grb-on-stars/727169/4 "2015-08-06T21:17:53Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > It just gets bigger and stronger and _angry_ ? You wouldn’t like it when it’s angry. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effects-of-grb-on-stars/727169/5 "2015-08-06T22:30:54Z")
It gets a sunburn! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effects-of-grb-on-stars/727169/6 "2015-08-06T22:54:13Z")
Taking the question a bit more seriously before the equations come storming in, we need a lot of focusing to attempt any answer. First, we don’t know yet what causes gamma-ray bursts. Their light curves don’t resemble each other very much. And they all come from billions of light years away, making it tough to see sources, although some evidence is that they appear in fairly empty sectors. One possible source is a supernova. If that’s true then nearby stars will be greatly affected, although probably not by the gamma rays specifically. Those are emitted in rays so a star has to be unlucky to get in the direct path. Any planet hit would have its life wiped out. The star itself could be disrupted. Could a GMB have happened close enough to earth at some point to affect us? [Some people think so](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-ray_burst#Hypothetical_effects_of_gamma-ray_bursts_in_the_past). > [@](#): > > GRBs close enough to affect life in some way might occur once every five million years or so – around a thousand times since life on Earth began.[106] > > The major Ordovician–Silurian extinction events of 450 million years ago may have been caused by a GRB. The late Ordovician species of trilobite that spent some of its life in the plankton layer near the ocean surface was much harder hit than deep-water dwellers, which tended to stay put within quite restricted areas. Usually it is the more widely spread species that fare better in extinction, and hence this unusual pattern could be explained by a GRB, which would probably devastate creatures living on land and near the ocean surface, but leave deep-sea creatures relatively unharmed.[8] > > A case has been made that the cause of the 774–775 carbon-14 spike was the result of a short GRB. Sounds extremely speculative to me, but IANAS. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effects-of-grb-on-stars/727169/7 "2015-08-07T12:10:26Z")
Actually, we think we have a pretty good handle on the cause of GRBs, now. Or rather, the causes. There are two main types, and it’s now believed that they come from different origins. The so-called long duration gamma ray bursts, which can have faint echoes for several minutes after the main event, are now believed to be from extraordinarily powerful supernovae. The short duration bursts, meanwhile, which cut off abruptly and completely after a few seconds, are believed to be from a collision of two neutron stars to form a black hole.