Earth may have lost the Sun's protective shield millions of years ago

NASA-funded research suggests Earth's climate was shaped by the Sun's passage through dense regions of the Milky Way and by violent superflares during the Sun's youth. The temporary loss of the Sun's protective heliospheric bubble may have exposed Earth to cosmic radiation, potentially triggering ancient ice ages. These events may also help explain how early Earth remained warm enough for liquid water when the Sun was much dimmer.

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