Cosmic rays at night and Singapore TV: A new chain letter unsettles WhatsApp users.
Directly preceded by: This chain letter, which informs about dangerous cosmic radiation “tonight” near the earth, which supposedly causes physical injuries if you have electrical devices nearby, is a fake. He just causes unnecessary fear.
According to Snopes this chain letter has been around for years and its content is pseudoscientific nonsense. Many people will already know him, but everyone else will definitely see him. This is the chain letter:

Snopes informed
Rumors of dangerous cosmic rays passing Earth “tonight,” largely identical in wording, have been steadily accumulating in our inboxes for well over a year. The warning, which has been around since at least 2014 and whose timelessness is ensured by the absence of specific dates or discussion of time zones, reads in accessible plain language:
Tonight, from 00:30 to 03:30 don't forget to turn off the phone, cell phone, tablet, etc... and put it away from your body. Singapore TV announced this news. Please tell your family and friends. Tonight, from 00:30 to 03:30, our planet will have very high levels of radiation. Cosmic rays will pass close to Earth. So please turn off your cell phone. Do not leave the device close to your body, it can cause terrible damage. If you don't believe it, you can check BBC News on Google and NASA. Send this message to everyone you love
The National Aeronautics and Space Association (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) (among others) constantly monitor the Sun for events that would eject solar particles toward Earth.
Harmless
These events would not cause a direct health risk to humans on the Earth's surface, and as such the non-existent risk would not be exacerbated by the presence of a cell phone nearby. The idea that NASA would issue a warning is belied by the fact that there was not a single warning regarding solar activity from 2010 to 2015 to place the phone during such an event. In addition, the three-hour window for avoidance makes no sense since such events usually disrupt our magnetic field over a longer period of time.
However, if the warning referred to a more classic definition of cosmic rays - the high-energy (mostly) protons that come from supernova explosions - then the warning is on even shakier scientific ground. That's because cosmic rays, deflected by a magnetic field, are not easily tied to a single origin. Cosmic rays are a slowly changing background process that does not require human action.
NASA on supernovas
The only conceivable source of an acute cosmic ray spike would be a stream of particles ejected directly to Earth from a nearby supernova explosion. Aside from the fact that such an event would trigger a decade-long warning, making an exclusive Singapore TV scoop unlikely, there are also no stars close enough to us and close enough to the end of their life cycle to cause such an event, to produce:
Astronomers estimate that, on average, about one or two supernovae explode every century in our galaxy.
But for Earth's ozone layer to experience damage from a supernova, the blast must occur less than 50 light-years away. All of the nearby stars capable of going supernova are much farther than this. (Astronomers estimate that on average one or two supernovae per century explode in our galaxy. But for Earth's ozone layer to suffer damage from a supernova, the explosion must be less than 50 light-years away. All nearby stars capable of supernova , are much further away.)
Potential dangers
In terms of health effects on humans on the ground, this cosmic background radiation, similar to solar radiation, poses no immediate harm and can only be considered a health risk if one is chronically exposed to higher levels of radiation in polar regions, according to NOAA :
When these particles hit the atmosphere, large showers of secondary particles are created with some even reaching the ground.
These particles pose little threat to humans and systems on the ground […]. The Earth's own magnetic field also works to protect Earth from these particles largely deflecting them away from the equatorial regions but providing little-to-no protection near the polar regions […]. This constant shower of GCR particles at high latitudes can result in increased radiation exposures for aircrew and passengers at high latitudes and altitudes. (When these particles hit the atmosphere, large showers of secondary particles are created, some of which even reach the ground. These particles pose little threat to people and systems on the ground. The Earth's own magnetic field also protects the Earth from these particles, which it largely diverting from the equatorial regions, but providing little to no protection near the polar regions[….]. This constant shower of GCR particles at high latitudes can result in increased radiation exposure for aircrew and passengers at high latitudes and altitudes .)
Since this identical warning has been online for years and neither interpretation of the warning text makes scientific sense, the chain letter on WhatsApp, but also elsewhere, can basically be described as a fake.
via Snopes
Translated with DeepL
If you enjoyed this post and value the importance of well-founded information, become part of the exclusive Mimikama Club! Support our work and help us promote awareness and combat misinformation. As a club member you receive:
📬 Special Weekly Newsletter: Get exclusive content straight to your inbox.
🎥 Exclusive video* “Fact Checker Basic Course”: Learn from Andre Wolf how to recognize and combat misinformation.
📅 Early access to in-depth articles and fact checks: always be one step ahead.
📄 Bonus articles, just for you: Discover content you won't find anywhere else.
📝 Participation in webinars and workshops : Join us live or watch the recordings.
✔️ Quality exchange: Discuss safely in our comment function without trolls and bots.
Join us and become part of a community that stands for truth and clarity. Together we can make the world a little better!
* In this special course, Andre Wolf will teach you how to recognize and effectively combat misinformation. After completing the video, you have the opportunity to join our research team and actively participate in the education - an opportunity that is exclusively reserved for our club members!
Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )

