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Cosmic‐ray scintillation at the lunar surface
Author(s) -
Benson R.,
Duller N. M.,
Green P. J.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/gl008i002p00167
Subject(s) - cosmic ray , physics , cosmic cancer database , scintillation , astronomy , astrophysics , interplanetary spaceflight , solar wind , nuclear physics , optics , plasma , detector
The theory of cosmic‐ray scintillations has developed rapidly over the past few years. Cosmic‐ray scintillations arise from various irregularities in the magnetic fields through which cosmic‐ray particles must travel before being observed. These scintillations are characterized by broad‐band fluctuations in intensity over time. We have undertaken a study of the cosmic‐ray background as observed with the Rice University S uprathermal I on D etector E xperiment (SIDE) that was deployed on the lunar surface during the Apollo 14 mission. The energy threshold for cosmic‐ray protons was approximately 25 MeV in one sensor and 50 MeV in another. We find that the interplanetary cosmic‐ray scintillations are observed with the SIDE and these observations are consistent with current theoretical models and with other experimental results.