Courtesy SpaceWeather.com comes this apparently useless information:
Researchers have long known that solar activity and cosmic rays have a yin-yang relationship. As solar activity declines, cosmic rays intensify. Lately, solar activity has been very low indeed. Are cosmic rays responding? The answer is “yes.”
You can see the incurious shrugging (and whining about the cost of measuring) from here, can you not? So, don’t wait for it …
Cosmic rays, which are accelerated toward Earth by distant supernova explosions and other violent events, are an important form of space weather. They can seed clouds, trigger lightning, and penetrate commercial airplanes. Furthermore, there are studies linking cosmic rays with cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death in the general population. Among patients who have an implanted cardioverter – defibrillator (ICD), the aggregate number of life-saving shocks appears to be correlated with the number of cosmic rays reaching the ground.
Why the relationship? A workmanlike explanation is given on SpaceWeather.com, why should I spoil their fun? Go read it! But I will steal one of their lovely photos, which may be the best reason of all for High Frontier explorations:
