Shklovsky proposed that cosmic rays from supernova explosions within 300 light years of the sun could have been responsible for some of the mass extinctions of life on earth.
Še posebej je pomemben njegov predlog, da sevanje iz Rakovice povzroča sinhrotronsko sevanje v katerem se nenavadno energijski elektroni sučejo skozi magnetna polja s hitrostmi blizu hitrosti svetlobe.