  We discuss the phenomenological implications of the neutron (n) oscillation
into the mirror neutron (n'), a hypothetical particle exactly degenerate in
mass with the neutron but sterile to normal matter. We show that the present
experimental data allow a maximal n-n' oscillation in vacuum with a
characteristic time $\tau$ much shorter than the neutron lifetime, in fact as
small as 1 sec. This phenomenon may manifest in neutron disappearance and
regeneration experiments perfectly accessible to present experimental
capabilities and may also have interesting astrophysical consequences, in
particular for the propagation of ultra high energy cosmic rays.
