Atmospheric Radiation Update: Cosmic Rays Increasing from Coast to Coast in the USA

Source - Space Weather News for June 25, 2017: http://spaceweather.com

ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION UPDATE: For years, Spaceweather.com and the students of Earth to Sky Calculus have been using space weather balloons to monitor cosmic rays in the atmosphere above California. We previously reported that dose rates have been increasing over the Golden State, more than 13% since March 2015. Now we know the same thing is happening over New England--only more so. Balloons recently launched from the Atlantic Coast of the USA have detected even stronger and more rapidly intensifying levels of cosmic radiation. What's causing this continent-wide increase?

Visit today's edition of Spaceweather.com for the full story.






SIERRA SNOWPACK SEEN FROM THE STRATOSPHERE: A space weather balloon launched on June 23rd has captured remarkable spherical images of California's historic snowpack from the stratosphere. They show Sierra Nevada mountains laden with widespread snow despite an early summer heat wave that has sent temperatures shooting above 110 F at the base of the range.

Click on the image below to explore the scene as an interactive 360-degree image--or visit the Earth to Sky Calculus Facebook page.

Cosmic Rays Intensify over California

Source - Space Weather News for May 12, 2017: http://spaceweather.com

COSMIC RAYS INTENSIFY: The solar cycle is plunging to its lowest level in years. As sunspots vanish and the sun's magnetic field weakens, cosmic rays are penetrating the inner Solar System in greater numbers than usual. High-altitude balloon flights over California have detected the change in the form of increased radiation levels in our planet's atmosphere.

Visit today's edition of Spaceweather.com to see the latest data and to learn how intensifying cosmic rays can affect us on Earth.

Radiation "Clouds" Detected at Aviation Altitudes

Source - Space Weather News for Jan. 20, 2017: http://spaceweather.com

RADIATION CLOUDS AT AVIATION ALTITUDES: A new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Space Weather reports the discovery of radiation "clouds" at aviation altitudes. When airplanes fly through these clouds, dose rates of cosmic radiation normally absorbed by air travelers can double or more. 

Get the full story on today's edition of Spaceweather.com

New Maps of the South Atlantic Anomaly

Source -Space Weather News for Sept. 30, 2016: http://spaceweather.com

NEW MAPS OF THE SOUTH ATLANTIC ANOMALY: Scientists have long known that our planet's inner Van Allen Belt dips down toward Earth over South America, creating a zone of high radiation known as the South Atlantic Anomaly.  A new study, just published in the AGU journal Space Weather Quarterly, reveals that the anomaly is moving and that it varies with seasons in a way that researchers don't fully understand.

Visit today's edition of Spaceweather.com for the full story.

Image Credit: Schaefer, R. K. et al (2016), Observation and modeling of the South Atlantic Anomaly in low Earth orbit using photometric instrument data, Space Weather, 14, 330–342, doi:10.1002/2016SW001371.

How to See the New Chinese Space Station

Source - Space Weather News for Sept. 21, 2016: http://spaceweather.com

HOW TO SEE THE NEW CHINESE SPACE STATION: Amateur astronomers have spotted China's new Earth-orbiting space station, which was launched just last week.  Although it is only a fraction of the size of the ISS, the Tiangong-2 is visible to the naked eye from dark-sky sites. Visit today's edition of Spaceweather.com for observing tips and a video of the outpost gliding across the night sky.

NEW! RADS ON A PLANE: Spaceweather.com is now reporting data you won't find anywhere else: Regular measurements of cosmic radiation at aviation altitudes. When you visit the home page, scroll down to the section entitled "Cosmic Rays in the Atmosphere" for the latest data at 25,000 ft and 40,000 ft

Geomagnetic Storm on March 6, 2016

Space Weather News for March 6, 2016: http://spaceweather.com

POLAR GEOMAGNETIC STORM: Today, March 6th, Earth is entering a stream of solar wind, and the encounter has sparked a G1-class geomagnetic storm.  Inside the stream, magnetic fields have a negative polarity--a condition which favors auroras.  High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for Northern Lights.  Visit Spaceweather.com for more information and updates.

AVIATION RADIATION EXPERIMENT: This weekend, Spaceweather.com and the students of Earth to Sky Calculus are flying to Indonesia to observe the March 9th total eclipse.  En route, they are conducting an experiment in aviation radiation. Their flight skirts the Arctic Circle and crosses the equator, allowing them to make cosmic ray measurements over a wide range of latitudes in a relatively short amount of time. Stay tuned to Spaceweather.com to learn the results.

Study: Astronauts face a growing peril from space radiation

Source - Space Weather News for Dec. 6, 2014: http://spaceweather.com

SPACE RADIATION:  According to a new study just published in the research journal Space Weather, astronauts face a growing peril from space radiation.  Rising fluxes of cosmic rays inside the solar system place increasingly strict limits on the amount of time explorers can safely travel through interplanetary space.  Visit http://spaceweather.com for more information and links to the complete study.

AURORA WATCH:  Arctic sky watchers should be alert for auroras this weekend. Earth is passing through a fast-moving stream of solar wind, and this is causing geomagnetic unrest around the poles. Geomagnetic storm alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

Stratospheric Radiation Rebounds Following CME Strike

Source - Space Weather News for Oct. 3, 2014: http://spaceweather.com

STRATOSPHERIC RADIATION: Stratospheric radiation levels are returning to normal, according to a Space Weather Buoy launched on Sept. 28th by students in California.  This follows a mid-September drop in ionizing radiation caused, ironically, by a strong solar storm and CME strike. 

Data and a discussion of the phenomenon may be found on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com.

Surprising Dip in Stratospheric Radiation during Solar Storm

Source - Space Weather News for Sept. 17, 2014: http://spaceweather.com

RADIATION DIPS DURING SOLAR STORM: On Sept. 12th, student scientists in Califonornia launched a weather balloon to the stratosphere during the most intense solar storm of the year. They expected to measure an increase in energetic radiation.  Instead they measured a sharp drop. 

Their counterintuitive data and the interesting explanation for it are featured on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com

Radiation Storm Hits Mars Rover, Curiosity OK

Source - NASA Science News for Feb. 24, 2012

En route to the Red Planet, Mars rover Curiosity has experienced the strongest solar radiation storm since 2005. Researchers say this is part of Curiosity's job as a 'stunt double' for human astronauts.

The full story can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/24feb_stuntdouble/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E99YYNN9EGQ

Radiation Storm and CME Alert

Source - Space Weather News for Nov. 26, 2011: http://spaceweather.com

CME AND RADIATION STORM: A solar radiation storm is in progress around Earth. At the moment (the late hours of Nov. 26th), the storm is classified as minor, which means it has little effect on our planet other than to disturb HF radio transmissions at high latitudes. Bigger effects, however, could be in the offing. The same blast that caused the radiation storm also hurled a CME into space, and this CME appears set to deliver a blow to Earth's magnetic field on Nov. 28th. Geomagnetic storms and auroras are possible when the cloud arrives. Visit http://spaceweather.com for more information and updates.

WOULD YOU LIKE A CALL when geomagnetic storms are in progress? Storm alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

Are We Alone for 12/20/10 - Skeptic Check: Cell Phone Danger

Are We Alone - Skeptic Check: Cell Phone Danger

Every ten microseconds, someone places a cell phone call. These portable gadgets are ubiquitous, and increasingly a take-for-granted part of everyday life.

But could cell phones be dangerous? Could holding a microwave transmitter up to your head for hours each day substantially increase the risk of cancer?

We investigate some of the latest thinking on the danger of cell phones, and also explain that everyone – even you – is a radio transmitter.

It’s Skeptic Check on Are We Alone. And we’ve got your number.

Guests:

• James Geary – Author and journalist. Read “The Man Who Was Allergic to Radio Waves”
• Richard Muller – Professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of The Instant Physicist: An Illustrated Guide
• Devra Davis – Scientist, and author of Disconnect: The Truth About Cell Phone Radiation, What the Industry Has Done to Hide It, and How to Protect Your Family

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Skeptic_Check_Cell_Phone_Danger

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

The Phantom Torso Returns

Source - NASA Science News for May 27, 2009

The Phantom Torso is back on Earth and he has quite a story to tell about the perils of space radiation.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/27may_phantomtorso.htm?list894285

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