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Cosmic Ray Update: New Results from the Moon
Note to astronauts: 2019 is not a good year to fly into deep space. In fact, it’s shaping up to be one of the worst of the Space Age.
The reason is, the solar cycle. One of the deepest Solar Minima of the past century is underway now. As the sun’s magnetic field weakens, cosmic rays from deep space are flooding into the solar system, posing potential health risks to astronauts.
NASA is monitoring the situation with a radiation sensor in lunar orbit. The Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) has been circling the Moon on NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft since 2009. Researchers have just published a paper in the journal Space Weather describing CRaTER’s latest findings.
“The overall decrease in solar activity in this period has led to an increased flux of energetic particles, to levels that are approaching those observed during the previous solar minimum in 2009/2010, which was the deepest minimum of the Space Age,” write the authors, led by Cary Zeitlin of NASA’s Johnson Space Flight Center. “The data have implications for human exploration of deep space.”
(Score: 2) by ledow on Sunday July 28 2019, @07:51AM (1 child)
I'm quoting from the summary but:
"Note to astronauts: 2019 is not a good year to fly into deep space. In fact, it’s shaping up to be one of the worst of the Space Age."
“The overall decrease in solar activity in this period has led to an increased flux of energetic particles, to levels that are approaching those observed during the previous solar minimum in 2009/2010, which was the deepest minimum of the Space Age,”
So... it's as bad as it was in 2009. Right? And presumably it'll last less than 10 years like that one. So why the hyperbole?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 28 2019, @11:21AM
Because solar cycle 24 was exceptionally weak, and cycle 25 is expected to be even weaker: http://www.sidc.be/silso/yearlyssnplot [www.sidc.be]