Etymology. The term ray is somewhat of a misnomer, as cosmic rays were, originally, incorrectly believed to be mostly electromagnetic radiation.In common scientific usage, high-energy particles with intrinsic mass are known as "cosmic" rays, while photons, which are quanta of electromagnetic radiation (and so have no intrinsic mass) are known by their common names, …

In astroparticle physics, an ultra-high-energy cosmic ray (UHECR) is a cosmic ray with an energy greater than 1 EeV (10 18 electronvolts, approximately 0.16 joules), far beyond both the rest mass and energies typical of other cosmic ray particles.. An extreme-energy cosmic ray (EECR) is an UHECR with energy exceeding 5 × 10 19 eV (about 8 joule, or the energy of a …

Health threats from cosmic rays are the dangers posed by cosmic rays to astronauts on interplanetary missions or any missions that venture through the Van-Allen Belts or outside the Earth's magnetosphere. They are one of the greatest barriers standing in the way of plans for interplanetary travel by crewed spacecraft, but space radiation health risks also occur for …

Cosmic background radiation is electromagnetic radiation from the Big Bang.The origin of this radiation depends on the region of the spectrum that is observed. One component is the cosmic microwave background.This component is redshifted photons that have freely streamed from an epoch when the Universe became transparent for the first time to radiation. . Its discovery and …

Beta Ray Bill is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in the Bronze Age of Comic Books, the character was initially intended to be a surprise; an apparent monster who unexpectedly turns out to be a great hero.As such, Bill is the first being outside the Marvel Universe's Norse pantheon to be introduced as being worthy to …

X-ray astronomy is an observational branch of astronomy which deals with the study of X-ray observation and detection from astronomical objects. X-radiation is absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere, so instruments to detect X-rays must be taken to high altitude by balloons, sounding rockets, and satellites.X-ray astronomy uses a type of space telescope that can see x-ray …

The Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE / ˈ k oʊ b i / KOH-bee), also referred to as Explorer 66, was a NASA satellite dedicated to cosmology, which operated from 1989 to 1993.Its goals were to investigate the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB or CMBR) of the universe and provide measurements that would help shape our understanding of the cosmos.. COBE's …

The Cosmic Cube is a fictional object appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.There are multiple Cubes in the Marvel Universe, all of which are depicted as containment devices that can empower whoever wields them.Although the first version, introduced in Tales of Suspense #79 (July 1966) and created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, originated on Earth as a …

The Cosmic Calendar is a method to visualize the chronology of the universe, scaling its currently understood age of 13.8 billion years to a single year in order to help intuit it for pedagogical purposes in science education or popular science.. In this visualization, the Big Bang took place at the beginning of January 1 at midnight, and the current moment maps onto the …

Relevant phenomena include supernova explosions, gamma ray bursts, quasars, blazars, pulsars, and cosmic microwave background radiation. More generally, astronomy studies everything that originates beyond Earth's atmosphere. Cosmology is a branch of astronomy that studies the universe as a whole. Astronomy is one of the oldest natural sciences.