Cosmic rays leaking into earth’s atmosphere; High intensity event may cause unexpected damage

A crack has taken place in earth's magnetic shield. The news of this crack did not surface until India's GRAPES-3 muon telescope released data.

The telescope recorded increased level of cosmic rays in earth's atmosphere back in June, 2015. This indicated that earth's magnetic field may have been damaged or cracked.

According to reports published on "Wired", a cloud of speedy plasma entered the earth's atmosphere. The cloud was comprised of particles created from the surface of the sun that were moving in the space with a speed of 2.5 million kilometers per hour.

The fast-moving cloud of plasma damaged earth's magnetosphere. The solar winds entered our atmosphere and triggered severe magnetic storms that damaged radio signals and the northern part of the world witnessed clear northern lights.

The area of earth containing the planet's magnetic field shrank in its radius from 11 times to four times from the high-speed attack.

Solar winds contain ultraviolet radiation. The earth's magnetic field deflects the radiation. The decrease in the size of magnetic field or its damage can increase the penetration of ultraviolet radiation into the earth.

This radiation makes out skin tan and is also responsible of causing cancer. The crack in the earth's magnetic field was for a short while during which the galactic cosmic rays penetrated earth's atmosphere.

Though the leaked cosmic rays were little in amount yet they sparked huge geomagnetic storms. According to a study reported by Physical Review Letters strong cosmic activity can weaken earth's magnetic shield.

Further study of the sudden event may disclose clues of upcoming mega-storms that would cripple the infrastructure of our modern technology. 

Apart from crippling the technological infrastructure, the health risks are also looming. What we need to prepare for is the security of human advancement and life on the planet earth.