 Follow these links for more information about the Auger Observatory Project:
Pierre Auger Observatory Home Page
Info about the Pierre Auger Observatory
Info on the Pierre Auger Project
The purpose of the Pierre Auger Observatory is to study the highest energy particles in Nature, cosmic rays. The most energetic yet detected has an energy of 3 x 1020 eV, a macroscopic energy greater than that of a tennis ball travelling at 100 mph. Cosmic rays at these energies are extremely rare: on average, one hits a square kilometre only every century. We do not know how these particles are made, or whether they are photons, atomic nuclei or neutrinos, but Auger promises data that may let us answer such questions, and possibly lead us to new understandings of some important astrophysical problems - or even to some new physics. Finding any such particles was a huge surprise as most objects that might produce them are over 100 million light years away and particle energies are severely degraded by the cosmic background radiation while travelling such distances. Additionally, it is not at all clear how to accelerate them if they are indeed protons.
An unusual observatory is taking shape in Mendoza Province, Argentina. Named the Pierre Auger Observatory, it is the focus of efforts by over 250 scientists from 15 countries. The Observatory consists of a surface array of 1600 water tanks overlooked by four massive fluorescence detector telescopes. It will cover 3000 km2, roughly the area of the state of Rhode Island. A second observatory is planned later in this decade for the Northern Hemisphere. The surface arrays will measure the lateral distribution of particles in air showers when they strike the ground; the fluorescence detectors will view the longitudinal development of showers as they move downward through the atmosphere. The objective of the Pierre Auger Observatory is to measure the arrival direction, energy, and mass composition of the highest energy cosmic rays.
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