Cosmic rays were first discovered in 1912 by Victor Hess when he set out to explore variations in the atmosphere’s level of radiation, which had been thought to emanate from the Earth’s crust. By taking measurements on board a flying balloon during an eclipse, Hess demonstrated both that the radiation actually increased at greater altitudes and that the sun could not be its source. The startling conclusion was that it wasn’t coming from anywhere within the Earth’s atmosphere but from outer space.
Our universe is composed of many astronomical objects. Billions of stars of all sizes, black holes, astroids, planets and more.
During violent disturbances, such as a large star exploding into a supernova, billions of particles are emitted into space. Although they are called rays, cosmic rays consist of these high energy particles rather than the photons that make up light rays. By studying the frequency with which different particles occur, scientists are able to determine the relative abundance of elements, such as hydrogen and helium, within the universe. But cosmic rays may provide even more fascinating information about the fabric of the universe itself.

An experiment called the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, A.M.S., has recently been installed on board the International Space Station, containing several detectors that can separately measure a cosmic ray particle’s velocity, trajectory, radiation, mass and energy, as well as whether the particle is matter or antimatter. While the two are normally indistinguishable, their opposite charges enable them to be detected with the help of a magnet. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer is currently measuring 50 million particles per day.
Source- TED-Ed
https://steemit.com/science/@vector01/what-is-dark-matter-2017107t114716218z
https://steemit.com/science/@vector01/could-we-create-dark-matter-2017108t18619464z
