News Archive
Observatory Status (7 Nov 2005)
The first Auger results presented at the International
Cosmic Ray Conference and other conferences during the past summer were well received. With the three
fluorescence stations and nearly sixty percent of the surface array operational, the data is
accumulating at a rapid rate.
We are looking forward to better statistics for improved
energy assignment, a more detailed spectrum and anisotropy studies. We are beginning to record some
spectacular tri-ocular hybrid events that will contribute to our
understanding of the performance of the detectors.
A contractor has been selected by the Province of
Mendoza for the construction of the last fluorescence building at Loma Amarilla at the north end of the array.
Construction will begin in November and should we complete eight months later.
SD array status: There are 1031 tanks deployed, 1012
with water and 898 with electronics.
Observatory Status (24 Dec 2004)
The Auger surface array is now more than 1/3 complete
and 1/2 of the fluorescence detector telescopes are operating
routinely. The observatory is measuring more than 500 air showers each
day, with 600 of the 1,600 surface detectors operational. The colored
patch in the figure below indicates the area spanned by the operating
Cherenkov water tanks as of November 2004. The biggest patch is near Los Leones, which was the first
completed fluorescence detector "eye". Another patch is growing around Coihueco, which is the other
operating eye. The building for the third eye, at Morados, was dedicated on
November 13, 2004, with Gov. Julio
Cobos attending. Construction of the fourth eye at Loma Amarilla
will begin soon.
The assembly building is now a busy place, as tanks are
constantly being delivered and made ready for deployment.
The office building includes the visitor center and the
Central Data Acquisition System as well as offices for the staff and
visiting physicists.
First physics results from the Auger Obervatory are
expected to be reported in mid-2005.
Archive of News about Auger
- La Nación editorial, Dec. 6, 2002
(in Spanish)
- Europhysics News, November 2002: "Probing
theories with cosmic rays" by Murat Boratav
- Nature, September 5, 2002: "High-energy
astrophysics: Let's catch some rays" by Philip Ball
- Physics World, September 2002: "Could the
end be in sight for
ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays?" by Subir Sarkar
- CERN Courier, March 2002: "Pierre Auger
Observatory in action" by Paul Mantsch
- CNEA-publication, 2001: "El Observatorio
Pierre Auger: Una Colaboración Internacional para Resolver el
Misterio de los Rayos Cósmicos de Mayor Energía" (291 KB
PDF file in Spanish) by J.W. Cronin and Alberto Etchegoyen
- Astronomy, January 2001: "Discovering Cosmic
Rays" by James Trefil
- Astronomy, January 2001: "Showered in Mystery"
by Ivan Semeniuk
Archive of Auger Press Releases
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