Gamma Ray Bursts how likely is it that one will effect us?

Question

I guess this entails how often they happen, and what range they have.

Also, since they travel at the speed of light could we see one coming? Or would it just hit us blindsided?

Answer 1

They are exceedingly rare, and there are no viable candidate stars nearby.

So, the odds of us being affected by one are basically zero.

And, yes, the burst travels at c, so we would not see it coming.  However, there would be precursor signs that we would notice before the event actually occurred.

Answer 2

since it travels with the speed of light,it would be difficult to see only detect that his why we have detectors of radiation like geiger counter.it would affect the cell an cause cancer growth,it would cause skinburn,leukemia,catarracts...Gammarays will also increase ocean an sea level because when it comes it heats the sea.

Answer 3

Depends on the source. If it is from a burst from an explosion, no chance. If it is from a spinning source and we get it like a spinning flashlight, we have a chance to say . "what was that and where is it coming from?" We could end up getting hit repeatedly. We also can see items which have proven to produce gamma bursts and if we are not aimed at the areas of emission, we can speculate at the intensity and look for short term changes in optical intensity. We do have probes that report solar bursts and give us a little warning to protect our satellites and give astronauts a heads up.

Answer 4

Gamma rays and any source of light have an inifinite range, but the farther they are from the source the lower their power (as a function of r^3).

Theoretically a gamma ray can hit Earth and we would never know it if the worst of it hit directly.  But if the energy was "gaining" in strength or not evenly dispersed through our solar system, satellites can detect the incoming energy before humans are affected by it.