Editing Radiation (section)

== Cosmic radiation ==
{{Main|Cosmic rays}}
There are two sources of high energy particles entering the Earth's atmosphere from outer space: the sun and deep space. The sun continuously emits particles, primarily free protons, in the solar wind, and occasionally augments the flow hugely with [[coronal mass ejection]]s (CME).

The particles from deep space (inter- and extra-galactic) are much less frequent, but of much higher energies. These particles are also mostly protons, with much of the remainder consisting of helions (alpha particles). A few completely ionized nuclei of heavier elements are present. The origin of these galactic cosmic rays is not yet well understood, but they seem to be remnants of [[supernova]]e and especially [[gamma-ray burst]]s (GRB), which feature magnetic fields capable of the huge accelerations measured from these particles. They may also be generated by [[quasar]]s, which are galaxy-wide jet phenomena similar to GRBs but known for their much larger size, and which seem to be a violent part of the universe's early history.