A new peer-reviewed study has found evidence of “radiation clouds” at altitudes that commercial airplanes fly, which scientists say pose a risk to passengers. According to the study published in journal Space Weather, when aircraft fly through these clouds, cosmic radiation doses more than double and are absorbed by passengers. Spaceweather.com reports: “We have flown radiation sensors onboard 264 research flights at altitudes as high as 17.3 km (56,700 ft) from 2013 to 2017,” says Kent Tobiska, lead author of the paper and PI of the NASA-supported program Automated Radiation Measurements for Aerospace Safety (ARMAS). “On at least six occasions, our sensors have recorded surges in ionizing radiation that we interpret as analogous to localized clouds.” The fact that air travelers absorb radiation is not news. Researchers have long known that cosmic rays crashing into Earth’s atmosphere create a spray of secondary particles such as neutrons, protons, electrons, X-rays and gamma-rays that penetrate aircraft. 100,000 mile frequent flyers absorb as much radiation as 20 chest X-rays—and even a single flight across the USA can expose a traveler to more radiation than a dental X-ray. Conventional wisdom says that dose rates should vary smoothly with latitude and longitude and the height of the [...]
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