Cosmic ray is the term given to high energy radiation which strikes the Earth from space.
Some of them have ultrahigh energies in the range 100 - 1000 TeV . Such extreme energies come from only a few sources like Cygnus X-3 . The intensity of cosmic radiation increases with altitude, indicating that it comes from outer space. It changes with latitude, indicating that it consists at least partly of charged particles which are affected by the earth's magnetic field . Analysis of the particle populations in cosmic rays yields hints about their origin.