Supernova study suggests space blasts wiped out ancient life on Earth

Devonian and Ordovician extinction events may have been caused by supernovae.

Explosions caused by the death of a massive star may have stripped our planet's atmosphere of its ozone, sparked acid rain and exposed life to harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun .

Supernovae occur when massive stars reach the end of their lives, run out of fuel, cool off, and then collapse under pressure.