Forecasting space weather from the South Pole
JUL 09, 2012
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.026152
Science : A group of researchers is proposing that a pair of South Poleâbased neutron detectors used for decades to study cosmic rays and other charged particles striking Earth’s atmosphere be used instead to monitor solar flares. John Bieber of the University of Delaware and colleagues, whose paper appears in Space Weather, have been studying the energy spectra from solar flares. The more energy a particle has, the faster it travels and the more damage it can do. However, because lower-energy particles are more numerous, they end up doing the most damage. The researchers propose that the arrival of the high-energy particles could provide an early warning before the most intense part of a solar storm strikes, writes Sid Perkins for Science.
© 2012 American Institute of Physics
