Neutrons on a Plane

Space Weather News for March 18, 2017 http://spaceweather.com https://www.facebook.com/spaceweatherdotcom NEUTRONS ON A PLANE: Researchers have long known that air travelers are exposed to cosmic rays on board commercial aircraft. Indeed, pilots are classified as "occupational radiation workers." Two days ago, Spaceweather.com and the students of Earth to Sky Calculus took a pair of bubble chambers onboard a flight from Sweden to the USA and detected a significant number of neutrons in the passenger compartment. This confirms that neutrons are an important form of aviation radiation. Read more about it on today's edition of Spaceweather.com. SOLAR WIND ADVISORY: A hole has opened in the sun's atmosphere and it is spewing a stream of solar wind toward Earth. The stream's arrival on March 23rd could spark the first auroras of northern spring. Monitor the realtime aurora gallery for sightings. Remember, SpaceWeather.com is on Facebook! Above: In this photo, taken 35,000 feet above Greenland on March 16, 2017, each bubble shows where a neutron passed through the chamber and vaporized a superheated droplet. Share Tweet Forward Copyright © 2017 Spaceweather.com, All rights reserved.