The Akeno Giant Air Shower Array (AGASA) is a very
large surface array designed to study the origin of
ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. Located in the town of Akeno in Yamanashi prefecture, Japan, it covers an area of 100 km
2 and consists of 111
surface detectors and 27
muon
A muon ( ; from the Greek letter mu (μ) used to represent it) is an elementary particle similar to the electron, with an electric charge of −1 '' e'' and a spin of , but with a much greater mass. It is classified as a lepton. As wi ...
detectors. Array experiments such as this one are used to detect
air shower particles.
The array is operated by the
Institute for Cosmic Ray Research,
University of Tokyo at the
Akeno Observatory Akeno Observatory is a cosmic ray observatory located in Akeno, a town in Yamanashi prefecture, Japan. The observatory is run by the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research (ICRR), based at the University of Tokyo. Akeno Observatory features AGASA, the ...
.
Results
The results from AGASA were used to calculate the energy spectrum and
anisotropy of cosmic rays. The results helped to confirm the existence of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (
>), such as the so-called "
Oh-My-God" particle that was observed by the
Fly's Eye experiment run by the
University of Utah.
The
Telescope Array, a merger of the AGASA and High Resolution Fly's Eye (HiRes) groups, and the
Pierre Auger Observatory have improved on the results from AGASA by building larger, hybrid detectors and collecting greater quantities of more precise data.
See also
*
CREDO
*
Extragalactic cosmic ray
*
Gamma-ray telescopes
A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol γ or \gamma), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. It consists of the shortest wavelength electromagnetic waves, typically s ...
(Alphabetic list)
*
Gamma-ray astronomy &
X-ray astronomy
*
Cosmic Ray System (CR instrument on the Voyagers)
References
External links
AGASAHigh Resolution Fly's Eye
High energy particle telescopes
Cosmic-ray experiments
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