Caption: 
A new study led by Southwest Research Institute’s Dr. Keiichi Ogasawara indicates that helium pickup ions are a wellspring of solar energetic particles. These high-energy accelerated particles travel at speeds twice as fast as during times of quiet solar activity. But when they are boosted by solar shocks, such as coronal mass ejections, they can penetrate spacecraft and spacesuits, posing a radiation hazard to astronauts.