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COSMIC RAY ENERGY SOURCE. “The discovery of Ca. D. audaxviator thriving 2.8 km below the Earth's surface powered by radiolysis opens up new possibilities of biological interaction with (ionizing) particle radiation. Galactic cosmic rays produce secondary particles that deposit energy in the subsurface environment. Conceivable mechanisms have been proposed through which the energy of Galactic cosmic rays-induced particles can be used to produce biologically useful products such as organics and utilize energy for radiolysis to power a potential subsurface ecosystem.” https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2016.0459 View in LinkedIn

MARTIAN SURFACE. “Radiolysis-powered ecosystems can use these chemicals for metabolic processes. The possibility of methane, N2 and traces of O2 being by-products of such an ecosystem cannot be ruled out and could possibly explain the presence of methane that cannot yet be explained by standard physics and chemistry models.” https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2016.0459 View in LinkedIn

MARTIAN WATER CHEMISTRY. “There is growing evidence of pockets of near-surface water on Mars. The presence of indigenous nitrogen in sedimentary and aeolian deposits using the SAM instrument on-board the Curiosity rover was reported recently. Observations of hydrated salts, magnesium perchlorate, magnesium chlorate and sodium perchlorate on the Martian surface, were also recently announced.” https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2016.0459 View in LinkedIn

MAY 5, 2015 FLARE. "The sun unleashed its most intense flare of the year Tuesday (May 5), a monstrous blast that caused temporary radio blackouts throughout the Pacific region." Brilliant video. https://lnkd.in/eEU_WVv View in LinkedIn

SOLAR PARTICLES. “Typical solar proton events (SPEs) produce a fluence of about 10(9) protons cm−2 on Earth. Because the Sun was considerably more active in the past, it is highly likely that such eruptions might have occurred on the Sun more frequently. The higher energy component of these SPEs, just like Galactic cosmic rays, is capable of penetrating underground, and would have increased the flux of secondary particles in subsurface environments. A combination of particle flux along with water and nutrients might provide ideal conditions for life to originate and evolve until conditions on the surface become optimal.” https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2016.0459 View in LinkedIn

SOLAR FLARE DEBRIS. “The spatial size of a flare depends on individual events; in the smallest event the height of a flaring loop is less than 10(4) km, whereas it reaches 10(5) km in the largest event. Flares are observed in a wide range of electromagnetic waves such as radio, visible light, X- rays, and gamma rays...a flare produces high-energy particles which travel through the interplanetary space, sometimes having a severe impact on the environment of the Earth.” Wonderful review. http://repository.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dspace/handle/2433/153022 View in LinkedIn

HI-ENERGY COSMIC PARTICLES. “If the solar particles are sufficiently energetic (more than 10 GeV), they can produce secondary particles capable of penetrating underground and in water, providing a small source of energy away from direct exposure to high flux of harmful UV radiation on the surface. Solar particles typically reach energies of hundreds of MeV during violent eruptions and in some cases greater than 10 GeV.” https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2016.0459 View in LinkedIn

HUGE ENERGY. “According to NASA, the energy released in a solar flare "is the equivalent of millions of 100-megaton hydrogen bombs exploding at the same time." When the energized particles exploding from solar flares race toward us, they arrive in only eight minutes.” https://lnkd.in/eD93wPS View in LinkedIn

VIOLENT EARLY EARTH. “It is believed that approximately 3.5–4 Gyr ago, when life originated on the Earth, the Sun was in a highly active phase. In this scenario, the Earth's surface was likely to be bombarded by a high flux of energetic solar particles and super coronal mass ejections. Enhanced flux of solar particles and variability in the Galactic cosmic rays flux can also enhance the rate of lightning, and provide energy to the prebiotic soup to synthesize amino acids and other organic compounds forming the building blocks of life.” https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2016.0459 View in LinkedIn

SOLAR FLARES. “Observations show that flares are one of the most explosive phenomena in the atmosphere of the Sun, releasing a huge amount of energy up to about 10(32) erg on the timescale of hours. Flares involve the heating of plasma, mass ejection, and particle acceleration that generates high-energy particles.” https://lnkd.in/e3J5CRi View in LinkedIn