## I. INTRODUCTION In a series of publications [1 - 23], a dangerous phenomenon of cosmic origin for humanity was described – the presence of a high correlation between the flows of positively charged particles with high kinetic energy recorded from satellites in the Earth orbit and mortality on the Earth's surface from many diseases. The main focus of the mentioned publications was on the effect of solar alpha radiation on mortality from diseases, killer number one of mankind – those of the circulatory system. The harmful effects of solar alpha radiation are also observed on many other organs and systems in the human organism, turning this invisible effect into one of the main causes of death for humanity. The mentioned dangerous phenomenon of cosmic origin is unevenly spread on the planet's surface. Europe and the Mediterranean are among the most affected. However, in [1 - 23] are described many examples, where this phenomenon is also observable in several countries from the Northern Hemisphere – Asia, America, and even Africa. The European Union has a tradition of maintaining reliable mortality statistics, in which the discussed multifaceted influence of solar alpha radiation on mortality stands out clearly. Below, based on data from mortality statistics in the European Union, the unexpected association between solar alpha radiation and mortality from neoplasms is shown. The high-energy alpha radiation can ionize the atoms in the living organism, which drastically worsens the normal metabolism in living cells. This type of radiation may be the leading external cause of neoplasms. ## II. MATERIAL AND METHODS ### a) Mortality data The analysis below is based on an authoritative source of health data – EUROSTAT [24]. In the study, the parameter annual mortality rate – number of deaths per 100,000 inhabitants was used as a characteristic of mortality. EUROSTAT offers free access to data on mortality rates from causes in the countries of the European Union, the European Economic Area, and the candidate countries for membership in the union. Geographically, these countries occupy Europe and the Mediterranean. Data are grouped by NUTS (Nomenclature Des Unités Territoriales Statistiques in French, the nomenclature of territorial units for statistics). In the study, mortality data from the EUROSTAT shortlist were used, in which mortality rates are grouped by causes of death into 92 groups, mostly diseases. The groups are related to the classes in the International Disease Classifier ICD-10, $(10^{\text{th}}$ revision). The shortlist contains mortality data for EU countries (NUTS-1) and EU regions (NUTS-2, smaller areas of the larger NUTS-1 countries). Currently (2023) the shortlist includes mortality rate data for the interval 2011 – 2020. Annual mortality rate data were extracted for 353 European regions (NUTS-2) separately from each of the shortlist groups for the interval 2011 – 2019 (the last pre-pandemic year). ### b) Satellite data Satellite data on corpuscular radiation – protons and alpha particles recorded by the satellites of the series GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites) were obtained from an NOAA site [25]. The satellites of the GOES series fly in geostationary orbit (above the Earth's equator), at an altitude of 36,000 kilometers above the Earth's surface, make one lap in 24 hours, that is, they "hang" over a certain point on the Earth's surface and are not shade by the Earth at their circumference around it. Data on alpha-particle and proton fluxes (unit: (number of particles). $\mathrm{cm}^{-2}.\mathrm{s}^{-1}.\mathrm{sr}^{-1}.\mathrm{MeV}^{-1}$ ) with energies of the range 3.8 - 21.3 MeV were used. The fluxes were recorded by the satellite high-energy particle detectors: 1. Energetic Particles Sensor (EPS), and 2. Energetic Proton, Electron, and Alpha Detector (EPEAD). The data are available averaged over a 5-minute interval, during which there are up to 25 reports of the instrument. ### c) Data processing The correlation coefficients [26] between the annual averaged alpha radiation flux and the annual mortality rate were calculated. Maps were created showing (with black isolines) the distribution of the annual mortality for 353 NUTS-2 European regions from the EUROSTAT shortlist death causes: "Neoplasms" (EUROSTAT mortality shortlist number 8), "Malignant neoplasms (C00-C97)" (shortlist number 9), and "Other malignant neoplasms (remainder of C00-C97)" (shortlist number 31) for 2012, the year with the highest solar activity (and mortality) in the studied time interval 2011 - 2019. Below the three groups of causes are collectively referred to as "neoplasms". With red isolines, the maps show the distribution across the territory of Europe and the Mediterranean of the correlation coefficient between the annual mortality rate from neoplasms with the annually averaged alpha particle flux for the time interval 2011 - 2019. Data on the coordinates, latitude, and longitude [Google Earth] of the centroids of the NUTS-2 regions included in the study were used in the map. Mapping was performed with Golden Software Surfer10. The kriging interpolation procedure was selected. In mathematical statistics, the level of statistical significance [26] is a parameter, indicating the degree of reliability of the calculated correlation coefficient. The smaller the number of this parameter, the more reliably the correlation coefficient is established, i.e. the more reliably a cause-and-effect relationship has been established, in the case between the annual flux of solar alpha radiation and mortality from causes of neoplasms. The correlation coefficient and the level of statistical significance are related. For the 9 years included in the study, a minimum correlation coefficient of 0.668 corresponds to a statistical significance level of 0.05 [26]. In scientific studies, a level of statistical significance no greater than 0.05 is accepted as a criterion for the reliability of the correlation coefficient. The red isolines on the correlation coefficient distribution in the map enclose the regions with statistically significant values of the correlation coefficients around and up to a significance level of 0.05. Correlation coefficients with a significance level above 0.05 are of high reliability (the higher the number, the lower the significance level) i.e. the existence of a causal relationship between cosmic alpha radiation and mortality from the causes of neoplasms can be considered reliably established in the mentioned areas enclosed by red isolines of the correlation coefficient. If there is a coincidence for some of the maxima for mortality rate and correlation coefficients, then in the region of these maxima, the impact of alpha radiation contributes noticeably to the mortality from neoplasms. To the extent that the hypothetical mechanism proposed below explaining the observed phenomenon assumes that charged particles of high energy pass through the atmosphere and reach the Earth's surface, the energy required for this was calculated from databases and calculators PSTAR and ASTAR [27, 28]. Geomagnetic field data were obtained from the INTERMAGNET site [29]. ## III. RESULTS The described dangerous phenomenon is observed in the form of dependence between the annual average flux of radiation from positively charged particles (protons and alpha particles) with high kinetic energy, recorded by satellites in orbit around the Earth, and the annual mortality rate in the statistics of several countries from all continents in the Northern Hemisphere. The countries in whose mortality statistics the phenomenon is observed are located in a band parallel to the equator with approximate boundaries along the parallels of $30^{\circ}$ and $60^{\circ}$ north latitudes. It is observed in the annual mortality statistics of small countries. It is not noticeable in the statistics of large countries in the same band. It can be inferred that the impact on the Earth's surface is short-lived and over a limited area the size of a small country, but is masked in large country statistics because it does not affect the entire area of the large country at the same time. This conclusion is confirmed for the USA, for which there is data on mortality in individual states [10]. The mortality statistic of the European Union is suitable for the study because it is based on statistical regions, smaller than a country, but still big enough, to include a statistically sufficient number of inhabitants. This phenomenon would be expected to influence mortality in countries south of the Equator, however, the mortality statistics for them are scarce, unreliable, or absent, preventing reliable inferences about such an influence in the Southern Hemisphere. For particle energies of the order of 3.8 - 21.3 MeV, the year-averaged fluxes of protons and alpha particles are highly correlated, i.e. the studied phenomenon of lethality is noticeable in both the mean proton flux and the mean alpha particle flux data. For the reason explained below, only the average flux of high-energy alpha particles is included as the incident radiation in the next examples. With black isolines, Figure 1 shows the distribution of the mortality rate for EUROSTAT shortlist death cause "Other malignant neoplasms (remainder of C00-C97" for Europe and the Mediterranean, for 2012 the year of maximum solar activity (and mortality), from the studied interval. With red isolines in the figure, the distribution of the statistically significant correlation coefficient between solar alpha particle fluxes and the mortality rate for "Other malignant neoplasms (remainder of C00-C97)" is shown. The statistically significant influence of alpha radiation on mortality from "Other malignant neoplasms (remainder of C00-C97)" is limited to a band parallel to the Equator with approximate dimensions between $30^{\circ}$ and $60^{\circ}$ north latitude. The impact of alpha radiation on mortality in the mentioned band does not continuously cover the entire band but is of the nature of limited spots in it, covering mainly mountainous areas. A pronounced effect - a statistically significant coincidence between areas with increased annual "Other malignant neoplasms (remainder of C00-C97)" mortality rate and its correlation with annual alpha radiation flux is observed for two narrow bands around $40^{\text{th}}$ and $55^{\text{th}}$ parallels.  Figure 1: Europe and the Mediterranean, the "Other malignant neoplasms (remainder of C00-C97)" mortality rate for 2012 (black isolines), and its statistically significant correlation with annual alpha particle flux (red isolines) for the studied interval 2011 – 2019 Figures 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 9 show the time dependence in the interval 2011 - 2019 of two numerical sequences: - Of the recorded annual fluxes of alpha particles from satellites of the GOES series - 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14, and, - Of the "Neoplasms", "Malignant neoplasms (C00-C97)", and "Other malignant neoplasms (remainder of C00-C97)" annual mortality rate for some of the NUTS-2 regions of the European Union. The high correlation between the two numerical sequences can be seen, indicating the existence of a causal relationship between them.  Eurostat NUTS-2 region: Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera, Switzerland. Annual alpha particle flux and mortality rate from Other malignant neoplasms (remainder of C00-C97), correlation coefficient 0,885, significance level 0,01 Figure 2: The high statistically significant correlation between annual fluxes of cosmic alpha radiation and the "Other malignant neoplasms (remainder of C00-C97)" mortality rate for the EUROSTAT NUTS-2 region Schweiz/ Suisse/Svizzera, Switzerland, indicates the presence of a causal relationship between the two phenomena.  Eurostat NUTS-2 region: Orta Anadolu, Turkiye. Annual alpha particle flux and mortality rate from Other malignant neoplasms (remainder of C00-C97), correlation coefficient 0,857, significance level 0,01 Figure 3: The high statistically significant correlation between annual fluxes of cosmic alpha radiation and the "Other malignant neoplasms (remainder of C00-C97)" mortality rate for the EUROSTAT NUTS-2 region Orta Anadolu, Turkiye, indicates the presence of a causal relationship between the two phenomena. Figure 4 shows the distribution of the mortality rate for EUROSTAT shortlist death cause "Malignant neoplasms (C00-C97)" for Europe and the Mediterranean, under the same conditions and designations as in Figure 1. Areas with increased statistically significant correlation are scattered throughout Europe. A pronounced effect – a statistically significant coincidence between areas with increased annual "Malignant neoplasms (C00-C97)" mortality rate and its correlation with annual alpha radiation flux is observed for the two narrow meridional bands between - $5^{\circ}$ to $+5^{\circ}$ and $10^{\circ}$ to $20^{\circ}$.  Figure 4: Europe and the Mediterranean, the "Malignant neoplasms (C00-C97)" mortality rate for 2012 (black isolines), and its statistically significant correlation with annual alpha particle flux (red isolines) for the studied interval 2011 - 2019  Figure 5: The high statistically significant correlation between annual fluxes of cosmic alpha radiation and the "Malignant neoplasms (C00-C97)" mortality rate for the EUROSTAT NUTS-2 region Steiermark, Austria, indicates the presence of a causal relationship between the two phenomena  Eurostat NUTS-2 region: Alsace, France. Annual alpha particle flux and mortality rate from Malignant neoplasms (C00-C97), correlation coefficient 0,784, significance level 0,05 Figure 6: The high statistically significant correlation between annual fluxes of cosmic alpha radiation and the "Malignant neoplasms (C00-C97)" mortality rate for the EUROSTAT NUTS-2 region Alsace, France, indicates the presence of a causal relationship between the two phenomena  Eurostat NUTS-2 region: Drenthe, Netherlands. Annual alpha particle flux and mortality rate from Malignant neoplasms (C00-C97), correlation coefficient 0,776, significance level 0,05 Figure 7: The high statistically significant correlation between annual fluxes of cosmic alpha radiation and the "Malignant neoplasms (C00-C97)" mortality rate for the EUROSTAT NUTS-2 region Drente, Netherlands, indicates the presence of a causal relationship between the two phenomena  Figure 8 shows the distribution of the mortality rate for EUROSTAT shortlist death cause "Neoplasms" for Europe and the Mediterranean, under the same conditions and designations as in Figure 1. The areas with increased statistically significant correlation are scattered throughout Europe their pattern is similar to the mix of the patterns in Figures 1 and 4. Figure 8: Europe and the Mediterranean, the "Neoplasms" mortality rate for 2012 (black isolines), and its statistically significant correlation with annual alpha particle flux (red isolines) for the studied interval 2011 – 2019 Eurostat NUTS-2 region: West Central Scotland (NUTS 2021), United Kingdom. Annual alpha particle flux and mortality rate from Neoplasms, correlation coefficient 0,812, significance level 0,05  Figure 9: The high statistically significant correlation between annual fluxes of cosmic alpha radiation and the "Neoplasms" mortality rate for the EUROSTAT NUTS-2 region West Central Scotland (NUTS 2021), United Kingdom, indicates the presence of a causal relationship between the two phenomena ## IV. DISCUSSION The given examples convincingly prove the existence of an influence of cosmic radiation flux on neoplasm mortality. The problem of the mechanism of the described influence remains unclear. A hypothesized mechanism of this influence is outlined below, answering many of the questions that arise. 1. An observed phenomenon - mortality from many diseases in the statistics of many countries located mainly in the $30^{\circ}\mathrm{N} - 60^{\circ}\mathrm{N}$ band, is strongly correlated with fluxes of positively charged particles with energy of the order of $4 - 21\mathrm{MeV}$, recorded by the GOES series satellites in Earth orbit. 2. The recorded alpha particle flows are mostly pulses with a duration of less than 5 minutes (the averaging interval of the recording device). 3. Proposed hypothesis – positively charged particles with high energy penetrate through the Earth's atmosphere to the Earth's surface and damage human health, causing death mainly in elderly people. 4. As the average altitude of the affected countries increases, the particle flux-correlated mortality shows an increasing trend [4, 10]. It is probably due to the more intense radiation flux penetrating the thinner atmosphere over the mountainous region of Earth's surface - an argument favoring the hypothesis. 5. The source of the flows of positively charged particles is the Sun - mortality increases with observable processes on the Sun - from Solar Mass Ejections directed to Earth (a phenomenon on the solar surface that could be observed with other astronomical means) [4, 8]. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) on the International Space Station measures cosmic rays, excluding those of solar origin (when shielded from the Sun by the station's solar panels). In particular, it measures the flow of 3He and 4He (alpha particles) in cosmic rays. The measurements show [30] increasing annual flux of alpha particles in cosmic rays for the interval of years from 2011 to 2017 (last available data), while the flux of GOES registered (solar?) alpha particles for the same interval of years is decreasing (Figures 2 and 9 for example). Indirect evidence for the Sun as a source of high-energy alpha particles is that this assumption convincingly explains the downstream processes that ultimately lead to death. 6. Positively charged solar particles capable of penetrating through the Earth's atmosphere to the Earth's surface are high-energy alpha particles. Calculators PSTAR [28] and ASTAR [29] calculate the penetration parameters of protons, respectively alpha particles in different substances, in particular in air. Calculations with data for a homogeneous atmosphere – an atmospheric model with constant density, temperature, and pressure decreasing with height [4] show that only particles whose energy is above 2.4 GeV for protons and over 6.2 GeV for alpha particles can penetrate the Earth's atmosphere to the surface. There are no registered by GOES satellites protons above 0.7 GeV, but there are registered alpha particles with energy above 3.4 GeV, hypothetically also those with energy above 6.2 GeV [4, 10, and 12], i.e. the particles that penetrate to the Earth's surface are probably high-energy alpha particles. Only fluxes of alpha particles with a magnitude of at least (1000 particles). $\mathrm{cm}^{-2}.\mathrm{s}^{-1}.\mathrm{sr}^{-1}.\mathrm{MeV}^{-1}$ is correlated with the mortality of the Earth's surface. 7. It is assumed that the alpha particles recorded by the satellites were emitted simultaneously with the hypothetical fast alpha particles in a common explosive process (flares?) on the solar surface. It can be calculated that particles with an energy of 7 GeV need 8.87 min to reach the Earth's surface from the Sun's surface, and registered by satellites particles with energies of 5 – 10 MeV travel about 2 hours. The registered alpha particles do not have enough energy to penetrate the atmosphere, unlike the hypothetical fast alpha particles that reach the surface of the Earth in minutes from the center of the solar disk. However, the registered alpha particles are an indicator that two hours earlier there was an irradiation of the Earth's surface with fast (unregistered) alpha particles. 8. Although alpha particle streams irradiate the entire illuminated part of the atmosphere, penetration of fast alpha particles to the surface occurs only in a limited area of the surface (death spot), for which two conditions favoring penetration are combined: a. The Sun is culminating for the center of the death spot. During the year, the apparent position of the Sun relative to the point of observation shifts, so that the maximum angle of elevation of the Sun's disk above the horizon (solar culmination at local noon) changes depending on the date. The latitude and longitude of a point on the Earth's surface where the solar disk is at its culmination at that moment of registration of the incoming alpha particle flow - the point of registration, can be determined from the date (latitude), and the hours and minutes of registration (longitude). The center of the dead spot can be calculated - it is approximately $30^{\circ}$ east of the registration point [10]. The Earth's angular velocity is $15^{\circ}$ per hour. Figure 10 shows the registration points for cases of intense alpha radiation fluxes with an intensity of at least $1000 \, \text{cm}^{-2} \cdot \text{s}^{-1} \cdot \text{sr}^{-1} \cdot \text{MeV}^{-1}$ for 1974 and 1975. They are located on meridians located about $30^{\circ}$ westward of meridional bands of high correlation between alpha particle fluxes and mortality from "Malignant neoplasms (C00-C97)" (Figure 4).  Figure 10: Points of registration of pulses of alpha particles with a flux not less than $1000.\mathrm{cm}^{-2}.\mathrm{s}^{-1}.\mathrm{sr}^{-1}.\mathrm{MeV}^{-1}$ of the western coast of Europe. A Google Earth map was used b. For the center of the death spot, a coincidence is in effect - the direction of the geomagnetic induction vector coincides with the direction of the alpha particle intrusion - the alpha particle movement is not affected by the deflecting magnetic force. Such a coincidence occurs twice a year for latitudes in the band from $28^{\circ}\mathrm{N}$ to $48^{\circ}\mathrm{N}$ [4]. For latitudes outside this band, such a coincidence is impossible, the fast alpha particles do not reach the Earth's surface, or their flux on the surface decreases fast with their moving away from the band. The moment of occurrence of a flow of fast alpha particles cannot be predicted, but the dates of increased risk for a given point on the Earth's surface between $30^{\circ}\mathrm{N} - 50^{\circ}\mathrm{N}$ can be calculated by the latitude of the location [10]. For example, for the EUROSTAT NUTS-2 region Switzerland (Bern) (See Figure 2), with latitude $47^{\circ}\mathrm{N}$, the dates with maximum risk are around May 24 and July 20. On these dates, the inclination $(63.6^{\circ})$ of the geomagnetic vector for Switzerland is close in magnitude to or coincides with the culmination of the Sun (the Earth's atmosphere is thinnest at the moment of the Sun's culmination, and there is no deflecting magnetic force for alpha particles if they intrude at this time from the Sun). The increased risk of health incidents outdoors around local noon is a further argument for the healthfulness of the indoor midday break ('siesta') practiced in Mediterranean countries. The arguments given above reveal a new, previously unsuspected cosmic cause of neoplasm mortality – solar corpuscular alpha radiation. This type of radiation may be the leading external cause of neoplasm diseases. The risk, in particular for neoplasms, is highest for inhabitants in the mountainous regions. During the day, the hours around local noon are the riskiest for a cosmic impact causing subsequent illness. The risk is also increased during certain days of the year (depending on the latitude of the observation point) during which the solar culmination coincides with the angle of the geomagnetic vector (inclination). If a stream of high-energy solar alpha particles were to hit the Earth at this time, there would be no deflecting magnetic force on them, making it easier for them to reach the Earth's surface. A part of the recorded pulses of alpha particles forms an unnatural series with fixed periods (meaning a permanent meridian, both for the registration point and the death point) and relatively constant magnitudes, which allows the hypothesis of their artificial origin [12].

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