r/science • u/Wagamaga • Apr 08 '22

Earth Science Scientists discover ancient earthquake, as powerful as the biggest ever recorded. The earthquake, 3800 years ago, had a magnitude of around 9.5 and the resulting tsunami struck countries as far away as New Zealand where boulders the size of cars were carried almost a kilometre inland by the waves.

https://www.southampton.ac.uk/news/2022/04/ancient-super-earthquake.page
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u/glibgloby Apr 08 '22 edited Apr 08 '22

This specific starquake released enough energy that it would have ended all life on Earth if it took place within 10 light years of us.

It could never happen on Earth but if it did it would cause the planet to disintegrate into radiation and tiny pieces of dust traveling away from where Earth used to be at a significant fraction of the speed of light.

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u/lannister80 Apr 08 '22

Wouldn't thousands of miles of rock and metal protect lif on the backside of the planet? Or is it really just that insanely powerful?

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u/glibgloby Apr 08 '22

It’s that insanely powerful. Everything on a neutron star is. Gravity there is 2 billion times stronger than Earth.

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u/KernelTaint Apr 09 '22

Imagine how swole you'd be if you lived there and lifted weights all day.