Characterization of cosmic rays and direction dependence in the Polar Region up to 88 km altitude

Abstract

Aims:The sounding rocket experiment REM-RED was developed to operate on board the REXUS-17 rocket in order to measure the intensity of cosmic rays. The experiment was launched from the ESRANGE Space Center (68°N, 21°E) on the 17th of March 2015 at the beginning of the most intense geomagnetic storm within the preceding 10 years. The experiment provided the opportunity to measure the intensity of cosmic rays in the Polar Region up to an altitude of 88 km above sea level. Methods: The experiment employed Geiger-Müller (GM) counters oriented with their axes perpendicular to each other in order to measure the cosmic ray intensity during the flight of the rocket. This measurement setup allowed performing direction-sensitive measurements as well. During the ascent phase the rocket was spinning and hence stabilized along its longitudinal axis looking close to the zenith direction. This phase of the flight was used for studying the direction dependence of the charged particle component of the cosmic rays. Results: In comparison with earlier, similar rocket experiments performed with GM tubes at lower geomagnetic latitudes, significantly higher cosmic radiation flux was measured above 50 km. A non-isotropic behavior was found below 50 km and described in detail for the first time in the Polar Region. This behavior is in good agreement with the results of the TECHDOSE experiment that used the same type of GM tubes on board the BEXUS-14 stratospheric balloon.

First results from the LUCID-Timepix spacecraft payload onboard the TechDemoSat-1 satellite in Low Earth Orbit

“…Granja et al, 2014b) See also rocket experiments at lower altitudes e.g. Zábori et al (2016). This would require identification of particle track angle and inclination as part of the machine learning classification algorithm, although we note that this must be done carefully to avoid uncertainty regarding the angles of entry.…”

A simple method to monitor the dose rate of secondary cosmic radiation at altitude

“…Therefore, the particle fluence measured with the Liulin-RG5 is dominated by particles from the vertical direction, whereas the fluence measured with the Liulin-RG4 device is dominated by particles in horizontal direction. This effect was also observed within a REXUS/BEXUS project of the European Space Agency which used Geiger counters carried on very sophisticated high-altitude balloons [30].…”

The Regener-Pfotzer Maximum During a Total Solar Eclipse

“…The value of n depends on the energy of the muons, but it is close to 2 for integrated intensities [9]. The angular variation of cosmic ray intensity as a function of altitude has been observed [10,11] but has not been well studied. Quantitative theoretical models of the altitude dependence of the zenith angle variation of cosmic ray intensity with which to compare our results have not yet been developed.…”