This news release goes to the heart of my research. It is as if the astrophysics science community comes clean, having hinted of the seriousness charged particles can do to our solar system and of course Earth. What I have been writing about over the last five years regarding possible scenarios based on factual historic data, pertaining to galactic cosmic rays, setting aside the short-term consequences of the Sun’s 22 year cycle apropos to the expansion and contraction of solar rays such as coronal mass ejections, solar flares, coronal holes and filaments.
In short, (encourage you to read last 5 or 6 Science of Cycles newsletters) it is galactic cosmic rays which will usher in the upcoming magnetic reversal. It is these smaller, if not smallest charged particles as measured using a electromagnetic spectrometer which cause the most harmful effects to Earth’s core and humans.
I am placing original excerpts below so you can read the words used as to their emphasis in realizing events such as supernovae’s from our galaxy Milky Way, or perhaps even greater distances from neighboring galaxies or celestial orbs can have a profound effect to our solar system and planet.
Research recently published provided empirical evidence of two prehistoric supernovae exploding about 300 light years from Earth. Now, a follow-up investigation based on computer modeling shows those supernovae likely propagated a significant biological shift on our planet to a long-lasting gust of cosmic radiation, which also affected the atmosphere.
“I was surprised to see as much effect as there was,” said Adrian Melott, professor of physics at the University of Kansas, who co-authored the new paper appearing in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, a peer-reviewed express scientific journal that allows astrophysicists to rapidly publish short notices of significant original research. “I was expecting there to be very little effect at all,” he said. “The supernovae were pretty far away – more than 300 light years – that’s really not very close.”
According to Melott, “The big thing turns out to be the cosmic rays. The really high-energy ones are pretty rare. The high-energy cosmic rays are the ones that can penetrate the atmosphere. They tear up molecules, they can rip electrons off atoms, and that goes on right down to the ground level. Normally that happens only at high altitude.
Melott’s collaborators on the research are Brian Thomas and Emily Engler of Washburn University, Michael Kachelrieß of the Institutt for fysikk in Norway, Andrew Overholt of MidAmerica Nazarene University and Dimitry Semikoz of the Observatoire de Paris and Moscow Engineering Physics Institute.
The boosted exposure to cosmic rays from supernovae could have had “substantial effects on the terrestrial atmosphere and fauna.” Fauna pretty much means ‘all living things’. For instance, the research suggested the supernovae might have caused a 20-fold increase in irradiation by muons at ground level on Earth.
“A muon is a cousin of the electron, a couple of hundred times heavier than the electron – they penetrate hundreds of meters of rock,” Melott said. “Normally there are lots of them hitting us on the ground. They mostly just go through us, but because of their large numbers contribute about 1/6 of our normal radiation dose. So if there were 20 times as many, you’re in the ballpark of tripling the radiation dose.”
Melott said the uptick in radiation from muons would have been high enough to boost the mutation rate and frequency of cancer, but not enormously. Still, if you increased the mutation rate you might speed up evolution.
Indeed, a minor mass extinction around 2.59 million years ago may be connected in part to boosted cosmic rays that could have helped to cool Earth’s climate. The new research results show that the cosmic rays ionize the Earth’s atmosphere in the troposphere – the lowest level of the atmosphere – to a level eight times higher than normal. This would have caused an increase in cloud-to-ground lightning.
Cosmic rays are inescapable throughout the universe. They can rip right through our atmosphere, damaging DNA and possibly causing cancer and memory loss over the long-term.
“There was climate change around this time,” Melott said. Africa dried out, and a lot of the forest turned into savannah. Around this time and afterwards, we started having glaciations – ice ages – over and over again, and it’s not clear why that started to happen. It’s controversial, but maybe cosmic rays had something to do with it.
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