>>12262393 (PB)

When solar flares pop on the sun, it causes a bevy of anomalies here on earth. It's so detrimental it's monitored minute by minute by DoD & other agencies. It was previously referred to as the "Geo Planetary Index" but now it's called "K Factor" (no idea what that means).

Geo Planetary Index, was a reference to the overall effect the solar flares had in relation to the alignments of the planets. Astronomers are some smart peeps.

On the B1 Bomber, if you had a MAD (magnetic azimuth detector) read something screwy. One of the steps in the technical data was to contact NORAD and get the Geo Planetary Index. If it was high, you instructed the crew to fly with it and verify it's function in flight. It was almost always good in flight.

As for "Cosmic Rays" what does that mean?