An artists rendering of the explosion of SN 2006gy, a massive star that scientists are calling the brightest supernova on record.

(NASA)

A long time ago in a galaxy not so far away, a string of supernovae explosions made for one wild light show, sending radioactive particles across our planet and possibly kickstarting a major climatic change, new studies say.

Two separate studies published in Nature link radioactive debris found on the seafloor to the unworldly explosions.

The first evidence linking to the cosmic eruptions was found over ten years ago, when a research team came across iron-60 samples along the floor of the Pacific Ocean. Other samples were then found all across the globe, amounting to more than 120 bits throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.

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The radioactive pieces were then dated back to two time periods: 6.5-8.7 million years ago and 3.2-1.7 million years ago, according to the first study.

“This is by far the biggest such study that’s ever been done,” Adrian Mellott, an astronomer from the University of Kansas, told Gizmodo. “It tells us pretty definitely that this happened, and it could hardly be anything but supernovae.”

The explosion that sent radioactive parts raining down on the Earth just happens to overlap with the world’s most recent ice age and astronomers suspect the event could have had an effect on the Earth’s climate. Whether the star’s dying breath could have gave way to the glacial period is still in the air, but it allows for interesting thought.

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The debris was traced back to a deteriorating star cluster close to 326 light years away, according to the second study. For reference, anything around 26 light years would prove to be catastrophic to us here on Earth.

While that may sound like a harmless distance in comparison, the explosion was still strong enough to send particles to our home planet. If you were alive during the detonation, it would have made for a brilliant speck in the night sky.

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Cleveland Volcano, situated on the western half of Chuginadak Island in Alaska, erupts on May 23, 2006. (Courtesy of NASA)