Strange Universe

Radiation everywhere

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Radiation penetrates our bodies 24/7. Most is natural, with background cosmic ray doses proportional to your home’s elevation. These broken pieces of atoms zooming in from space, give you 30 millirems of annual radiation if you live near sea level, like in L.A. But you get much more if your home is up high. People in Denver get 80 millirems yearly.
That’s why astrobiologists are concerned about future Mars colonists. That planet’s air is so thin, radiation is unblocked, and anyone there would get significant ongoing radiation.