Hiding from stellar radiation behind an asteroid

[lizvogel]

Okay, I thought I knew science, but after several days of researching this, all I've got is indecision and a headache.

Original fiction, unspecified not-too-far-future time.

My character is the pilot of a small cargo ship in the asteroid belt. (No FTL, no artificial gravity.) Said ship has sufficient radiation shielding to be safe under normal conditions. My idea is that there's an unusually strong solar event (solar flare? coronal mass ejection?), and he has to survive by positioning his ship on the shadowed side of an asteroid (rocks are good shielding), and use his excellent piloting skills to stay there until the storm passes.

1. Does this, theoretically, actually work?

2. I'd like the solar event to be a Coronal Mass Ejection, because some CMEs move relatively slowly, and that gives my character time to make a narratively interesting choice. But is it the CME itself that's hazardous to human life, or a sort of "bow wave" of radiation that precedes it? And if the latter, is that radiation moving at the speed of the CME, or the speed of light? (I keep thinking I have a grasp on this, and then the next source I read contradicts it.)

Guidance appreciated, fellow space enthusiasts!

Comments

[mrshamill]

Not a physicist here, but one who has gone down that rabbit hole too. AFAIK, CMEs move quite slowly. And you're right, the radiation precedes it, sort of like a bow wave on a boat. Your MC hiding behind a big chunk of rock should be okay, but it would have to be a *big* chunk of rock. You would have to be careful to delineate any rotation of your big chunk of rock, as that would factor in his shelter. He'd almost have to land on it to ensure he was safe from the radiation and the plasma, which is a significant danger in and of itself. At least he'd be sure to figure out how long to hide, as he would see the CME echoing around his chunk of rock. Wikipedia (where you've probably been) has some excellent source material.

Thing is, they're not really understood well, so you can take quite a bit of poetic license in how he perceives it. I wouldn't stress it too much, just ground it as well as you can and go from there.