Those statements flooded not just in text messages but also in social media sites like facebook and twitter. Same statements are told: "BBC WORLD NEWS: Switch off your phone before 10:30pm to 3:30am. There will be cosmic rays from Mars. Stay away from your phone just in case." And many other versions of those; some saying that other electronic devices like laptops were also to be turned off.
Being a science subject fanatic when I was still a student, I immediately denied that these reports were true. According to Wikipedia:
"Cosmic rays are immensely high-energy radiation, mainly originating outside the Solar System.They may produce showers of secondary particles that penetrate and impact the Earth's atmosphere and sometimes even reach the surface. Composed primarily of high-energy protons and atomic nuclei, they are of mysterious origin. Data from the Fermi space telescope (2013)have been interpreted as evidence that a significant fraction of primary cosmic rays originate from the supernovae of massive stars. However, this is not thought to be their only source. Active galactic nuclei probably also produce cosmic rays."
So, the cosmic rays originating from Mars is a hoax. In the first sentence, the site said that it mainly originates outside the Solar System. And the data from the Fermi space telescope indicate that the cosmic rays are from supernovas which are massive stars. Mars is a planet, not a gigantic star.
I also checked the BBC's page but I didn't found the so-called announcement regarding this matter. Kuya Kim also denied it via his twitter account.
It's been years since this rumor started, and with the booming of social media, those reach a wider audience in a jiffy. But at the same time, we're gifted with the technology to research the authenticity of these issues as well. For others who has no immediate access to the internet, let us lend our help by saying them the truth.
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