Recognition Arrived After Instruments
on the ground
measure
what they are expected
to measure. Familiar assumptions
about the source
of the radiation. Nothing visible
crosses the sky. A balloon
rises. Altitude
increases.
 At greater heights the readings
do not diminish. They grow stronger. The familiar explanation
begins
to lose
its hold. Evidence
accumulates
with height. The instrument
registers
effects
the unaided eye
cannot see. The source
cannot remain
the Earth. Something
need not be
directly visible
for its effects
to be measured. It had been reaching the instruments long before anyone gave it a name. Recognition of cosmic rays arrived after the effects had already been felt. 🧡🔥₿ Quiet.
 Unfinished.
 Still arriving—