Pierre Auger Observatory

The Pierre Auger Observatory is an international observatory studying the highest energy (1018 – 1020+ eV) cosmic rays.

The cosmic rays impact the atmosphere of the Earth and create electron-positron cascades which are visible through their excitation of the atmosphere to produce Nitrogen fluorescence light with 2.2m optical telescopes.

it is complemented by an array of surface or ground detectors which cover an area of 3000 km2 making it arguably the largest observatory in the world!

It is situated in western Argentina and is a collaboration of 17 countries.

Pierre Auger Observatory
A Surface Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory
Credit: Pierre Auger Observatory


Study Astronomy Online at Swinburne University
All material is © Swinburne University of Technology except where indicated.