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Akeno Observatory is a
cosmic ray observatory A cosmic-ray observatory is a scientific installation built to detect high-energy-particles coming from space called cosmic rays. This typically includes photons (high-energy light), electrons, protons, and some heavier nuclei, as well as antima ...
located in Akeno, a town in
Yamanashi prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Yamanashi Prefecture has a population of 817,192 (1 January 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,465 km2 (1,724 sq mi). Yamanashi Prefecture borders Saitama Prefecture to the n ...
, Japan. The observatory is run by the
Institute for Cosmic Ray Research The Institute for Cosmic Ray Research (ICRR) of the University of Tokyo (東京大学宇宙線研究所 ''Tōkyōdaigaku Uchūsen Kenkyūsho'') was established in 1976 for the study of cosmic rays. The gravitational wave studies group is currently ...
(ICRR), based at the
University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...
. Akeno Observatory features AGASA, the
Akeno Giant Air Shower Array 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 km2 and consists of 11 ...
, which studies the origins of very high energy
cosmic rays Cosmic rays are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Solar System in our ow ...
. Construction of the observatory began in 1975, and in 1977 it became the second attached institution with ICRR. Its accomplishments include the observation of a super high energy cosmic ray air shower in 1995 that was previously thought to be impossible.


See also

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List of astronomical observatories This is a list of astronomical observatories ordered by name, along with initial dates of operation (where an accurate date is available) and location. The list also includes a final year of operation for many observatories that are no longer in ...
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List of largest cosmic structures This is a list of the largest cosmic structures so far discovered. The unit of measurement used is the light-year (distance traveled by light in one Julian year; approximately 9.46 trillion kilometres). This list includes superclusters, galax ...


References

Astronomical observatories in Japan Cosmic-ray telescopes Buildings and structures in Yamanashi Prefecture {{observatory-stub