... Magnetic Storms . ... Cosmic Rays . ... Energetic Particles . ... Solar fast Particles . We cannot observe the way the distant universe accelerates cosmic rays or produces energetic photons, but acceleration processes also occur on our Sun , though on a much more moderate scale. ... That is why such events are often missed by cosmic ray detectors near the equator, where the lowest energies are excluded by the Earth's magnetic field. ... Should we be concerned about solar energetic radiation? ...
Pioneer 10 & 11 . USA Jupiter/Saturn Flyby & Interstellar Probe . ... Pioneer 10 was launched on 2 March 1972, on top of an Atlas/Centaur/TE364-4 launch vehicle. ... This made Pioneer the fastest manmade object to leave the Earth, fast enough to pass the Moon in 11 hours and to cross the Mars orbit, about 80 million kilometers away, in just 12 weeks. ... Following its encounter with Jupiter, Pioneer 10 is exploring the outer regions of our Solar System, studying energetic particles from our Sun . ...