1. This project is funded by the NSF through grant PHY0822648 and the Universities of JINA. The Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics A Study of the Correlation Between GOES-15 Satellite Data and Cosmic Ray Incidence Kandiah Balachandran 1, Orlando Buria 2, Laura Forbes 3 1 Kalamazoo Valley Community College, Kalamazoo, MI USA. 2 West Seneca Christian School, West Seneca, NY USA. 3. MOISD Math Science Technology Center, Big Rapids, MI USA Introduction The origin of cosmic rays is not well understood. It was suspected that solar emissions might interact with Earth’s magnetic field in such a way as to affect the influx of cosmic rays. Hypotheses H0: There is no correlation (α=0.10) between solar emission intensity and cosmic ray incidence. H1: There is significant correlation (α=0.10) between solar emission intensity and cosmic ray incidence. Methodology A small cosmic ray detector (sCRD) was set up in a quiet corner of a seminar room in the NSCL building. Settings used included buzzer off, coincidence, and infinite count mode. A Thinkpad TM with a built-in webcam was positioned so as to record the sCRD display data for a period of 10 hours. The sCRD was switched from clear to count mode and the webcam was activated at 5PM ET on Tuesday 8/31/2012. Results And Analysis Figure 8 Interval Correlation Table Time (min) sCRD Count (cumulative) Emission Intensity Long λ (W/m 2 ) 00 1.63E-06 15549 9.01E-07 301081 8.07E-07 451604 7.95E-07 602132 8.99E-07 752653 8.62E-07 903198 1.12E-06 1053751 7.54E-07 1204262 1.13E-06 1354803 7.89E-07 1505284 7.22E-07 1655813 6.33E-07 1806344 7.39E-07 1956848 6.82E-07 2107388 9.41E-07 2257922 6.97E-07 2408464 7.21E-07 2559005 1.00E-06 2709530 8.59E-07 28510058 7.30E-07 30010622 6.79E-07 31511144 6.26E-07 33011694 6.28E-07 34512206 6.44E-07 36012737 2.05E-06 37513293 8.34E-07 39013829 7.44E-07 40514288 6.58E-07 42014852 6.80E-07 43515382 7.19E-07 45015868 8.66E-07 46516394 6.71E-07 48016924 7.17E-07 49517438 6.98E-07 51017980 8.73E-07 52518536 9.82E-07 54019061 1.08E-06 55519584 8.78E-07 57020113 8.67E-07 58520651 8.03E-07 60021162 7.12E-07 Figure 3 sCRD and Laptop Setup Figure 4 sCRD Count/Long Wave Correlation Correlation of Interval count to Solar Emission Intensity (Long λ power) 15 Minute Interval Count Flux Long λ0.272788316 Photo Credit: http://sxi.ngdc.noaa.gov/images/SXI_20120709_075600169_BA_15.PNG Chart Credit: http://satdat.ngdc.noaa.gov/sem/goes/data/new_plots/special ExtremeEvent_20120304-00h_20120317-24h.jpg No significant correlation (α=0.10) between cosmic ray count and solar emission intensity was detected. Therefore, the alternative hypothesis H 1, that there is significant correlation (α=0.10) between solar emission intensity and cosmic ray incidence, was rejected. Conclusion Proposal for Future Studies Since variations in the solar activity were minimal during the project data collection period, the study should be repeated during a time of predicted high solar emission intensity. The figure just above depicts GOES 15 satellite data from a high high solar activity time period. Note the difference in scale between Figures 5 and 6. http://www.boeing.com/Features/2011/01/img/bds_feat_artist_rendering_satellites_lives_300.jpg Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 1 Figure 7 Figure 2 Solar Flare Photograph Taken by GOES 15 Satellite The figure just above depicts GOES 15 satellite data from a 3-day window that includes the period of data collection used in the current study. Note the difference in scale between Figures 5 and 6. GOES 15 Satellite in Orbit Photo Credit: http://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/next-generation- weather-satellite-goes-o1.jpg