10/27/22, 7:22 PM Muons from cosmic rays provide a new look inside cyclones

NEWS EARTH

Particles from space provide a new look inside cyclones

Muons from cosmic rays might lead to a new tool for understanding the weather

Typhoon Hinnamnor swirls in the western Pacific Ocean on August 31. Subatomic particles from space could offer a new
way to peer inside such storms.
NASA

By James R. Riordon
23 HOURS AGO

Particles raining down from space offer 3-D views inside swirling tropical storms.

Muons created from cosmic rays that smash into Earth’s upper atmosphere have revealed the
inner workings of cyclones over Japan, researchers report October 6 in Scientific Reports.
The new imaging approach could lead to a better understanding of storms, the Report
researchers
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say, and offer another tool to help meteorologists forecast the weather.

“Cosmic rays are sustainable natural resources that can be used everywhere on this planet for
24 hours [a day],” says geophysicist Hiroyuki Tanaka of the University of Tokyo, so it’s just a
matter of taking advantage of them.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/muon-particles-cosmic-rays-inside-cyclones-weather 1/3