Yeah, rather than reaching earth’s surface directly, it’s far more likely that a given cosmic ray will collide with molecules in the atmosphere, creating a part

Yeah, rather than reaching earth’s surface directly, it’s far more likely that a given cosmic ray will collide with molecules in the atmosphere, creating a particle shower [1]. Extremely high-energy cosmic rays are sometimes detected, however. The so-called “Oh-My-God particle“, detected in 1991, apparently carried as much energy as a baseball moving at 58 mph [2]. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particle_shower https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particle_shower [2]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oh-My-God_particle https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oh-My-God_particle