These energies span the range of medical X-ray machines and airport security scanners.ĭata points in the graph labeled 'Stratospheric Radiation' correspond to the peak of the Regener-Pfotzer maximum, which lies about 67,000 feet above central California. Technical notes: The radiation sensors onboard our helium balloons detect X-rays and gamma-rays in the energy range 10 keV to 20 MeV. A number of controversial studies ( #1, #2, #3, #4) go even further, linking cosmic rays with cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. The researchers listed cosmic rays, irregular sleep habits, and chemical contaminants as leading risk factors. Chan school of public health, crews of aircraft have higher rates of cancer than the general population. According to a study from the Harvard T.H. They can alter the chemistry of the atmosphere, trigger lightning, and penetrate commercial airplanes.

Who cares? Cosmic rays are a surprisingly 'down to Earth' form of space weather. In addition, solar coronal mass ejections (CMEs) sweep aside cosmic rays, causing sharp reductions called ' Forbush Decreases.' The two effects blend together to bring daily radiation levels down. The sun's strengthening and increasingly tangled magnetic field repels cosmic rays from deep space. Solar Cycle 25 has roared to life faster than forecasters expected. What's going on? Ironically, the radiation drop is caused by increasing solar activity. Our latest measurements in July 2022 registered a 6-year low: Latest results (July 2022): Atmospheric radiation is decreasing in 2022.

Our monitoring program has been underway without interruption for 7 years, resulting in a unique dataset of in situ atmospheric measurements. These balloons are equipped with sensors that detect secondary cosmic rays, a form of radiation from space that can penetrate all the way down to Earth's surface. SPACE WEATHER BALLOON DATA: Almost once a week, and the students of Earth to Sky Calculus fly space weather balloons to the stratosphere over California. MAG is the visual magnitude of the asteroid on 'Lunar Distance.' 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distanceīetween Earth and the Moon. The moonstone comes with a greeting card showing the pendant in flight, telling the story of its trip to the edge of space and back again.Īll sales support hands-on STEM education The moonstone's sterling silver infinity wrap is inscribed with the words 'I love you forever.' It makes a great anniversary or birthday gift. This one hitched a ride to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon on May 13, 2022: 'I LOVE YOU FOREVER' MOONSTONE PENDANT: Are you looking for a far-out gift? Consider the 'I Love You Forever' Moonstone. 'The picture has been taken close to the French village of Valensole,' says Lioce, 'but actually the storm and the sprite were over Italy more than 200 km away.' It turns out, that is the perfect distance for catching sprites. With a second camera, equipped with a longer lens, I caught a close-up view of the very same sprite (inset). 'With one camera I captured a red sprite just above the Pleiades star cluster. 'An incredible thunderstorm was underway when I took the picture,' says Lioce.

photographed one leaping all the way over the Pleiades: On July 27th, Donato Lioce of Valensole, France. To see it, visit Heavens Above and select Tiangong for local flyby predictions.Ī SPRITE ABOVE THE PLEIADES: Sprites are an exotic form of lightning that fly up from the tops of thunderstorms. The growing station is now about as bright as a 1st magnitude star when it flies overhead in the night sky. The International Space Station is still much larger, but China is catching up. 'Looking through the eyepiece, I could almost feel it in 3D,' says Liu.Ī still frame from the video shows wide solar arrays, a robotic arm, a science lab, a crew module, and two spacecraft (Tianzhou 4 and Shenzhou 14) waiting at docking ports-almost all added within the past year. Boyang Liu was waiting with an 11-inch telescope and used it to photograph the orbiting outpost: Aurora alerts: SMS Text.ĬHINA'S NEW SPACE STATION: Yesterday, China's new Tiangong space station flew over Beijing. The gaseous material is flowiing from a southern hole in the sun's atmosphere. SLIGHT CHANCE OF STORMS: NOAA forecasters say there is a slight chance of minor G1-class geomagnetic storms today as Earth enters a high-speed stream of solar wind. Neutron counts from the University of Oulu's Sodankyla Geophysical Observatory show that cosmic rays reaching Earth are slowly declining-a result of the yin-yang relationship between the solar cycle and cosmic rays.

Credit: SDO/AIAĬosmic Rays Solar Cycle 25 is beginning, and this is reflected in the number of cosmic rays entering Earth's atmosphere. A new sunspot is emerging at the circled location.

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