Related papers: From cosmic explosions to terrestrial fires?
The origin of the highest energy cosmic rays remains an enigma. They offer a window to new physics, including tests of physical laws relevant to their propagation and interactions, at energies unattainable by terrestrial accelerators. They…
It is shown that the relativistic jets associated with the growth and past activity of the supermassive black hole in the Andromeda galaxy could be the main source of cosmic rays with energies above $10^{15}$ eV. Most of the cosmic ray…
There have been many experimental investigations into the ability of electric fields to enhance combustion by acting upon ion species present in flames [1]. In this work, we examine this phenomenon using a one-dimensional model of a lean…
Observations of energetic electrons (10 - 300 keV) by NOAA/POES and DMSP satellites at heights <1000 km during the period from 1999 to 2010 allowed finding abnormal intense fluxes of ~10^6 - 10^7 cm-2 s-1 sr-1 for quasi-trapped electrons…
Unconstrained CO2 emission from fossil fuel burning has been the dominant cause of observed anthropogenic global warming. The amounts of "proven" and potential fossil fuel reserves are uncertain and debated. Regardless of the true values,…
Lightning was detected by Voyager 2 at Uranus and Neptune, and weaker electrical processes also occur throughout planetary atmospheres from galactic cosmic ray (GCR) ionisation. Lightning is an indicator of convection, whereas electrical…
Supernova explosions are among the most energetic phenomena in the known universe. There are suggestions that cosmic rays up to EeV energies might be accelerated in the young supernova shell on time scales of a few weeks to years, which…
We demonstrate that cosmic rays form filamentary structures in the precursors of supernova remnant shocks due to their self-generated magnetic fields. The cosmic-ray filamentation results in the growth of a long wavelength instability, and…
We propose that cosmic rays originate mainly in three sites, a) normal supernova explosions into the interstellar medium, b) supernova explosions into stellar winds, and c) hot spots of powerful radio galaxies. The proposal depends on an…
A mysterious increase of radiocarbon 14C ca. 775 AD in the Earth's atmosphere has been recently found by Miyake et al. (Nature, 486, 240, 2012). A possible source of this event has been discussed widely, the most likely being an extreme…
The paper has been suggested by two observations: 1) the atmospheric CO$_2$ growth rate is smaller than that ascribed to the emission of fossil fuels combustion, 2) the fossil fuel reserves are finite. The first observation has lead the way…
The recent widespread thaw of permafrost has led to observations of explosive gas emissions, which expel ice and soil debris and leave behind large craters. This phenomenon appears to be caused by a buildup of pressure from below the…
In this paper, we have provided an overview of cosmic ray effects on terrestrial processes such as electrical properties, global electric circuit, lightning, cloud formation, cloud coverage, atmospheric temperature, space weather phenomena,…
Between 2.4 and 0.6 Gy ago, our planet underwent several episodes of global glaciations, including the Snowball Earth case that ended 635 My ago. Causes of this last Snowball event presumably included a decreased greenhouse gas…
We do several simple calculations and measurements in an effort to gain understanding of global warming and the carbon cycle. Some conclusions are interesting: (i) There has been global warming since the end of the "little ice age" around…
On geological timescales, the Earth is likely to be exposed to an increased flux of high energy cosmic rays (HECRs) from astrophysical sources such as nearby supernovae, gamma ray bursts or by galactic shocks. Typical cosmic ray energies…
Recent 60Fe results have suggested that the estimated distances of supernovae in the last few million years should be reduced from 100 pc to 50 pc. Two events or series of events are suggested, one about 2.7 million years to 1.7 million…
Galactic cosmic rays are believed to be accelerated at supernova remnants via diffusive shock acceleration. Though this mechanism gives fairly robust predictions for the spectrum of particles accelerated at the shock, the spectrum of the…
Solar eruptions generally refer to coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and flares. Both are important sources of space weather. Solar flares cause sudden change in the ionization level in the ionosphere. CMEs cause solar energetic particle (SEP)…
If ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) have extragalactic origins, as is widely assumed to be the case at least for the majority of cosmic rays with energies above a few EeV, secondary neutrinos and photons can be expected to be produced…