Effects
Supernovae Directly Affect Earth
Supernovae release cosmic rays that can affect the planet's atmosphere and magnetic fields. Fortunately, most supernovae are too far away to regularly affect the earth. If a supernova were to occur within a 160-light-year radius of Earth it could damage our ozone layer and magnetic poles. Alarmingly, if a supernova occurs within a radius of 65 light-years of Earth it would destroy at least 30% of the ozone layer and as much as 87% of our polar regions. These effects would be catastrophic, so much so, that scientists have theorized supernovae could be behind some historic mass extinction events.
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Figure 4. Diagram of the earth's atmosphere. The ozone layer protects us from harmful UV rays.
The Sun's Potental to Undergo a Supernova
Our Sun will never undergo a supernova because it does not have enough mass. To undergo a supernova our sun would need to have at least 10x the mass it has now. If our Sun had approximately 20x its current mass it would have the potential to form a black hole. Astronomers predict our sun will begin to run out of fuel in 5 billion years from now; first becoming a red giant and, then, a white dwarf 1 billion years later.
Figure 5. The Life Cycle of our Sun illustrating a white dwarf end point.