Galactic Superwave Theory
Astronomers have noted that between one in five and one in seven spiral galaxies appear to be in the process of exploding. The core nuclei of these galaxies can often be seen to glow as brightly as the whole galaxy itself. This can completely mask the features of the spiral arms in telescope images. These violent eruptions are huge in scale and can become more than 100,000 times brighter than our own galactic core. These actively exploding spiral galaxies have been called Seyfert galaxies, after their discoverer, the astronomer Carl Seyfert.
According to LaViolette in his groundbreaking book Earth Under Fire, astronomers are now realizing that these explosions are not confined to a particular type of galaxy, but occur in all spiral galaxies on a periodic basis. About 80–85 percent of the time a spiral galaxy will appear quite normal, but in the remaining 10–15 percent they are actively erupting. These explosions radiate out from their galactic cores and, in some cases, can engulf the entire galaxy. The length of the explosions can last from hundreds to several thousands of years.
LaViolette does not agree with scientists who believe there is a giant black hole at the center of the galaxy. He thinks there is a massive and highly dense star that is in the process of matter creation, rather than annihilation. He claims the general relativity equations for a black hole at the galactic center would lead to a breakdown in the structure of space and time.
No Warning
If one of these galactic superwaves was heading in our direction, we wouldn't even be able to see it. Light takes thousands of years to reach us from the center of the galaxy, so the first we are likely to know about it may be when it arrives. The consequences for our solar system could be far reaching, and for life on Earth, possibly quite dramatic. The superwave would bring with it a huge amount of interstellar matter. This would then be attracted into the gravitational field of the sun and the dust would form a shroud around our star.
To understand how this might affect our star, we can look at the T-Tauri class of star. These have substantial dust clouds around their equatorial planes. The dust cloud causes the T-Tauri stars to behave quite differently than our sun. These stars flare intensely, anywhere from between 100 to 1,000 times the amount our sun does. They also put out a much greater solar wind, luminosity, and ultraviolet radiation than the sun does, although if the dust cloud were absent, the star itself would be of a similar size.
If our sun started to behave like a T-Tauri star, the resulting increase in solar activity would be dramatic. Average temperatures would increase substantially. In addition, the direct effects of the flares themselves could wipe out global communications systems or create effects similar to a massive airborne nuclear explosion. A reasonably sized galactic superwave event could be responsible for triggering a significant extinction cycle. A major superwave event could reduce life on Earth back to a bacterial soup.
Supernova Triggers
If we can't see the superwave coming, how can we go about finding out if one is likely to arrive? LaViolette suggests that we may be able to detect the motion of a galactic superwave by looking for a pattern in supernova explosions. He theorizes that as the superwave passes, the unstable blue supergi-ant stars that are prone to this kind of explosion might be triggered by the gravitational tide of the wave. By looking for a pattern in supernova explosions, we might be able to detect the aftereffects of the bow shock front from a passing galactic superwave as it moves through the galactic arm.
By looking at the dates that recent supernova have been observed, LaVi-olette shows that it is possible that all four supernovae recorded within historical times may have been triggered by the same galactic superwave. Each of these supernovas occurred at a different distance to our planet and was observed on a different date, but by analyzing and comparing these times and distances it is possible to tell if it was likely that they may have been triggered by the same superwave event horizon. The Crab Nebula supernova explosion was recorded by the Chinese in
Analyzing Supernova Data
This period of 13,400 years quite closely corresponds with the last major mammalian extinction on Earth. It is also very close to one-half of a precessional cycle ago. LaViolette's theory is that galactic superwaves pass us once every precessional cycle. There is also the possibility, he believes, of a 13,000-year recurrence interval. If that proves to be true, it means that a significant superwave event could be imminent. Conventional scientific opinion suggests that superwave events are much less frequent than this, but LaViolette presents some interesting evidence to back up his claim.
Cosmic Rays and Ice Core Samples
Scientists have developed a technique for estimating the amount of cosmic-ray particle radiation that the planet is exposed to. When cosmic radiation hits Earth's atmosphere, the rays react to create tiny quantities of a rare radioactive isotope called beryllium-10, which then falls to Earth. By taking samples of ice cores at the polar ice caps, scientists are able to see how much beryllium-10 is concentrated in the layers that are formed each year. This can be used to interpret how much exposure there has been to cosmic radiation. There are cosmic-ray peaks that appear around 14,150 years ago; 36,800 years ago; 60,500 years ago; 89,500 years ago; and 103,500 years ago. This pattern corresponds quite closely to the length of the precession of the equinoxes. LaViolette believes that passing galactic super-waves could have created these cosmic-ray influxes and suggests that there is a definite and predictable relationship between the occurrence of super-waves and Earth's precession.
