Atmospheric Comsic Rays Are Increasing

"Cosmic rays in the stratosphere are intensifying for the 4th year in a row. This finding comes from a campaign of almost weekly high-altitude balloon launches conducted by the students of Earth to Sky Calculus. Since March 2015, there has been a ~13% increase in X-rays and gamma-rays over central California, where the students have launched hundreds of balloons. The grey points in the graph are Earth to Sky balloon data. Overlaid on that time series is a record of neutron monitor data from the Sodankyla Geophysical Observatory in Oulu, Finland. The correlation between the two data sets is impressive, especially considering their wide geographic separation and differing methodologies. Neutron monitors have long been considered a "gold standard" for monitoring cosmic rays on Earth. This shows that our student-built balloons are gathering data of similar quality.

Why are cosmic rays increasing? The short answer is "Solar Minimum." Right now, the 11-year solar cycle is plunging into one of the deepest minima of the Space Age. The sun's weakening magnetic field and flagging solar wind are not protecting us as usual from deep-space radiation. Earth to Sky balloon launches in multiple countries and US states show that this is a widespread phenomenon.

Cosmic rays are of interest to anyone who flies on airplanes. The International Commission on Radiological Protection has classified pilots as occupational radiation workers because of cosmic ray doses they receive while flying. A recent study by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health shows that flight attendants face an elevated risk of cancer compared to members of the general population. They listed cosmic rays as one of several risk factors. There are also controversial studies that suggest cosmic rays promote the formation of clouds in the atmosphere; if so, increasing cosmic rays could affect weather and climate." [ /i]

Oh, how exciting time we live in right now. No sunspots is 21 days in a row now.

Spaceweather

edit on 21-2-2019 by whiteblack because: Edit

edit on 21-2-2019 by whiteblack because: (no reason given)

a reply to: RoryRahl23

Do cosmic rays break up in the atmosphere?

Yes. Sort of. When a cosmic ray hits an atmospheric particle the result is other, lower energy particles and electromagnetic radiation. These particles, in turn, do the same thing. It's a cascading effect whereby the energy from the original cosmic ray is dispersed.
science.howstuffworks.com...


The flux level of cosmic rays does indeed rise and fals with the solar cycle but it doesn't change a lot from cycle to cycle.
cosmicrays.oulu.fi...

a reply to: Phage

Interesting, the last graph especially. It seems the arcs are becoming higher.

If the solar radiation did just keep plummeting would the increase in cosmic rays be harmful to the atmosphere?

Thanks for the knowledge!

a reply to: RoryRahl23

It seems the arcs are becoming higher.

A bit.
That's to be expected since Solar activity has been declining for several cycles.

If the solar radiation did just keep plummeting would the increase in cosmic rays be harmful to the atmosphere?

Not really. But as the article in the OP says, there is some speculation about it affecting cloud formation.

a reply to: Phage

Cloud formation globally though? Meaning increased drought, fires etc or do you think it mightn't be on a scale wide enough for international problems.

Effect on electronics Cosmic rays have sufficient energy to alter the states of circuit components in electronic integrated circuits, causing transient errors to occur (such as corrupted data in electronic memory devices or incorrect performance of CPUs) often referred to as "soft errors." This has been a problem in electronics at extremely high-altitude, such as in satellites, but with transistors becoming smaller and smaller, this is becoming an increasing concern in ground-level electronics as well.[87] Studies by IBM in the 1990s suggest that computers typically experience about one cosmic-ray-induced error per 256 megabytes of RAM per month.[88] To alleviate this problem, the Intel Corporation has proposed a cosmic ray detector that could be integrated into future high-density microprocessors, allowing the processor to repeat the last command following a cosmic-ray event.[89] In 2008, data corruption in a flight control system caused an Airbus A330 airliner to twice plunge hundreds of feet, resulting in injuries to multiple passengers and crew members. Cosmic rays were investigated among other possible causes of the data corruption, but were ultimately ruled out as being very unlikely.[90]

Something I read on Wiki, but check this next part out;

Possible mass extinction factor A handful of studies conclude that a nearby supernova or series of supernovas caused the Pliocene marine megafauna extinction event by substantially increasing radiation levels to hazardous amounts for large seafaring animals.[109][110][111]

Cosmic Rays er bad, mmKay?


Rahl23

a reply to: RoryRahl23

Cloud formation globally though? Meaning increased drought, fires etc or do you think it mightn't be on a scale wide enough for international problems

The theory is that increased cosmic radiation increases nucleation which leads to more clouds. So far the theory has not held up very well.

Cosmic Rays er bad, mmKay?

Yes, those produced by a nearby supernova would be much worse than what normally occur since the flux level would be magnitudes greater than what we experience. Even during solar minimum. Let's hope there is not a nearby supernova, mmkay?

I unfortunately still live in Central California, so i can 100% believe this, as it makes sense.

Not only from all the info and factual data online, but from what I personally experience on a daily basis. It hasn't been as intense lately, but for a while and especially during the later months of summer, you could feel the heat or the rays on your skin as soon as you went into the sunlight. I remember my local news did a short segment about sunscreens, etc. for protection, and them saying that you were able to receive a sunburn(the red skin/peeling) in less than 10 min.
I also could feel the effects it had on me physically, the lack of energy.
I believe it can have effects on clouds as well, cause the clouds here are weird as hell nowadays.
I swear I'm living in the Guinea Pig state.

a reply to: Phage

Takes off his tinfoil hat.


"FINE!"


Walks out of room.

a reply to: LtFluffyCakes96

It hasn't been as intense lately, but for a while and especially during the later months of summer, you could feel the heat or the rays on your skin as soon as you went into the sunlight.

Yes. In the summer sunlight is more intense because the sun is higher in the sky. But it has nothing to do with cosmic rays.

hmmm, interesting.... perhaps the Sun itself is the culprit -> throwing off 'circumstellar dust' in increasing amounts as the Micro-Nova cycle approaches in year ~2046


the Sun's solar wind may be pushing this energized dust and 'Rays' into the recently thinned out upper atmosphere ( the Earths denser atmosphere has been measured to have suffered some 10's of miles of Shrinkage for unknown reasons here in 2018-2019)


so the thinner ozone and upper atmosphere is not stopping as many cosmic/interstellar particles as 'normal'...


let's blame the China Syndrome at Fukushima --> phys.org...

a reply to: njord I was aircrew in the USNR and was flying a lot. I have had cancer and also have a mutation in my JAK 2 gene

No sunspots in 27 days in a row. No sunspots in February? It could happen. Pretty unusual.

a reply to: whiteblack

I have absolutely no reason to doubt this but is it possible that we are simply getting better at measuring them ,year on year? The more we improve the equipment and our understanding, surely that has some sort of knock on effect on the results we receive?

that's probably why we have more polarized weather, just saying

a reply to: njord

Developing over California, that explains a lot.

Tell me how many Space men/ space station have died from Cosmic rays?
look at how the ones who went to the moon died.
very very old. only one I know died of cancer (to the moon).

One of my most horrifying and re-occurring nightmares is walking outside and watching the atmosphere get sucked into the vacuum of space and suffocate while being blinded by star light, and now something similar is happening in reality? uh oh.
I know those nightmares are likely due to my nose being blocked but I do believe this topic is true.

The last thing I want is to walk outside and get sun burnt or cancer. I hate summer as it is.
It already gets too hot to the point that I can't breathe in the heat and while some people enjoy bathing themselves in radiation I for one do not.

This has been a lousy and short winter and I'm not looking forward to the coming seasons.
and to think it's just gonna get worse.