cosmic rays

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Cosmic Ray From Distant Star Suspected in Jet Emergency

Airbus grounded A320s after JetBlue incident in Tampa in October

(Newser) - A JetBlue flight's sudden plunge over Florida earlier this fall may have been caused by a cosmic ray from a distant supernova, according to a space weather expert. The Oct. 30 incident involved an Airbus A320 flying from Cancun, Mexico, to New Jersey's Newark, with the plane abruptly...

Idea to Shield Astronauts From Radiation: Mold

Fungus from Chernobyl ruins may shield humans from cosmic rays in space, drawing NASA interest

(Newser) - A black mold discovered inside the ruins of the Chernobyl nuclear plant may be able to feed on radiation, and scientists are now exploring whether it could one day protect astronauts from cosmic rays in deep space. The mold, first spotted by microbiologist Nelli Zhdanova in 1997, appears to not...

NASA Needs Your Help Unraveling Cosmic Mysteries

Agency calls for citizen scientists to catalog pulses of gamma rays as discoveries continue

(Newser) - NASA needs your help to identify massive explosions in space. The space agency is calling on citizen scientists to become "burst chasers" by joining a project to interpret gamma-ray bursts across the universe and "decode what the universe is saying," according to a release . Huge amounts of...

The Sun May Cause Lightning
 The Sun May Cause Lightning 
May 16, 2014 1:54 PM CDT

The Sun May Cause Lightning

Solar winds appear to trigger storms

(Newser) - The weather on the sun might just have an effect on the weather here on earth. Fast-moving solar winds tend to go hand-in-hand with an uptick in lightning storms, a new study reveals. The finding is somewhat puzzling as scientists have long believed that increased solar activity led to a...

'Mystery Light' Spotted in Mars Photo

NASA says blip was caused by cosmic rays

(Newser) - Is there life on Mars—and has it left its lights on? A strange blip of light in a photo snapped April 3 by NASA's Curiosity rover has excited UFO enthusiasts, the Houston Chronicle reports. While experts suspect a pixel problem, some believe the light shining upward signals Martians....

Mars Couple's Radiation Shield: Their Own Feces

It'll line the walls, alongside food, water

(Newser) - When you're on a budget-conscious mission to Mars, you can't waste anything—including your own, well, waste. The lucky couple tapped for Inspiration Mars' private voyage to the red planet will be tasked with lining the walls of their vessel with their own poop to shield themselves from...

NASA Balloon Gobbles Antarctic Data, Records

Cosmic ray detector spends 55 days aloft

(Newser) - A NASA scientific balloon on a mission over the Antarctic to detect cosmic rays has completed a record-breaking flight. The Super Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder—"Super-TIGER"—broke the record for longest flight by a balloon of its size 46 days into its mission and landed after 55 days,...

Hunt for Dark Matter Heads Deeper Underground

Scientist to seek WIMPs at site more than a mile deep

(Newser) - Scientists hunting for the invisible substance believed to make up most of the matter in the universe are planning to move the search to a two-mile-deep mine in Canada. Researchers trying to detect dark matter about a half-mile below the surface of Minnesota suspect they may have captured two particles...

Behind Toyota's Acceleration Woes: Cosmic Rays?

Now NASA is on the case

(Newser) - Of all the potential culprits behind Toyota's acceleration woes, this has to be the most far-fetched sounding: cosmic rays. Thing is, it may be true. Cosmic radiation can mess with the chips found in electronic components, Wired reports. Federal regulators are investigating whether or not radiation is causing Toyota's problems—...

Dark Matter Particles Detected Deep in Mine

Astounding find may yield answers to universe mysteries

(Newser) - Scientists searching for traces of the mysterious substance believed to make up most of the universe's mass believe they have detected it for the first time at the bottom of an old mine in Minnesota. A team of physicists say detectors placed half a mile underground to shield them from...

Solar System Is Dented: Voyager
Solar System Is Dented: Voyager
Dec 11, 2007 9:18 AM CST

Solar System Is Dented: Voyager

Intrepid spacecraft finds strange bulges in the heliosphere

(Newser) - Far out in space, a violent boundary zone marks the point where our solar system ends and outer space begins. NASA's Voyager 2 has now confirmed what its sister ship indicated: that this region is squashed and uneven, Space.com reports. This shock wave "sloshes back and forth like...

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