Local anisotropy of muon flux – The basis of the method of muon diagnostics of extra-terrestrial space

A new method for the analysis of spatial and angular characteristics of the cosmic ray muon flux registered in the hodoscopic mode using a single setup – the muon hodoscope – is presented. Various parameters of the muon flux anisotropy and methods of calculation of these parameters are discussed. It is shown that the horizontal projection of the muon flux relative anisotropy vector which characterizes lateral (horizontal) displacement of the muon flux angular distribution is the sensitive parameter to a variety of nonstationary processes in the heliosphere. The experimental data on the variation of the muon flux anisotropy during the passage of various irregularities in the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field in the Earth’s vicinity are presented.