Hoax Alert

Hoax Alert : Cosmic Rays From Mars Are Coming To Earth Tonight.

Nowadays, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and other Social media apps have become inseparable part of life. Everyday, we get innumerable messages from our friends, office related peoples, family members etc. We believe they share genuine news related to our day-to-day life. However, sometimes people don't verify about the news they received and they just forward it as soon as they read it.

I have been using WhatsApp for 4 years now and I have encountered this sort of news message for couple of times, 'Cosmic rays from Mars are passing close to Earth tonight in between 12 AM and 3 AM, So it is advised to keep your smartphone, tablets & other electronic cellular devices to be switched-OFF during this time. It affects your device and it can lead to Body Damage! So please place your devices far away from your body!

- Issued by Government, for public interest.'

Certainly, I started looking for some solid proof, which can clearly justify this message. Further in this post, we will see how it is a Hoax.

What are the Cosmic Rays ?

Cosmic rays are excessive energy protons and atomic nuclei, which have ability to travel in space at real speed of light. Cosmic rays are not electromagnetic waves, hence they cannot be described in wavelength. These rays actually show phenomena of releasing Blue light, when they collide on atmosphere. According to Space.com, As far as the human space exploration is concerned, We have determined that there is only one source for cosmic rays, which is our Sun. Sun emits low energy cosmic rays to earth and the root of the highest energy cosmic rays remains a mystery and a topic for research.

Can Mars Emit Cosmic Rays ?

In 2013, The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported that, 'Explosions of stars in our Milkyway Galaxy are most responsible for Cosmic Rays produced in entire Galaxy.' If we consider this statement, It can be concluded that Cosmic Rays are generally produced by stars and not by a planet.

Website from Goddard Space Flight Center reported that, 'Most of the galactic cosmic rays are apparently stimulated by the blast waves of supernova leftovers.'

Also, as mentioned above, researchers have determined that there is only one confirmed source of cosmic rays, which is our Sun. As we know, Sun is a radiation-energy emitting Star.

Can Cosmic Rays Affect Our Survival ?

According to National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA)'s report, Cosmic ray collisions in the human body can be injurious. This was further elaborated as, It can be injurious because they can damage the DNA in human cells.

As mentioned above, Cosmic rays travel with almost similar to speed of light and has a large amount of energy. If it collides directly on human DNA, it has the ability to destroy DNA filament.

This data was published by NASA in a report, CRaTER: How Cosmic Rays Affect Humans.

All in all, we can conclude that, Though Cosmic Rays are harmful for us but, 

Cosmic Rays are not emitted by Mars.

So please, Do not share such type of news without verifying if it is real or fake.