Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jun 1976
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1976cosp.meets....m&link_type=abstract
COSPAR, Plenary Meeting, 19th, Philadelphia, Pa., June 8-19, 1976, Paper. 14 p.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Light Emission, Radiation Hazards, Retinal Images, Skylab 4, Visual Observation, Flash, Particle Emission, Proton Energy, Radiation Effects, Visual Perception
Scientific paper
The astronauts on Skylab 4 observed bursts of intense visual light-flash activity when their spacecraft passed through the portion of the earth's inner trapped-radiation belt known as the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA). Two experimental sessions were carried out on board Skylab 4 to compare the flash rates with the measured flux of particles with Z of at least 1 that would pass through the astronaut's eyes. It was concluded that the flash rates, which became as great as 20/minute, were anomalously high. The present paper explores a number of alternative explanations for the anomalous flash rates that would be consistent with the accepted SAA flux values and laboratory data on particle-induced visual sensations. It is found that the apparent anomaly is removed when one includes the effect of nuclear interactions in and near the retina which result in star formation (the emission of slow protons, neutrons, and alphas from the nucleus in an evaporation-like process).
Filz Robert C.
McNulty Peter J.
Rothwell Paul L.
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