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The Telescope Array project is a collaboration between universities and institutes in Japan, Taiwan, China, Russia, Korea, and the United States. The experiment is designed to observe cosmic-ray-induced air showers at extremely high energies using a combination of ground array and air-fluorescence techniques. It is being deployed in the high desert in Millard County, Utah, USA. We are now in the process of gathering data.
The Telescope Array observes cosmic rays with energies of 1019 eV and up. The cosmic rays are observed at three fluorescence sites and a separate ground array consisting of 576 detectors.
TALE is the Telescope Array Low Energy extension. It is designed to observe cosmic rays with energies between 3x1016 eV and 1019 eV. TALE has two fluorescence sites placed about five kilometers away from TA-1 and TA-2. One of these is at Black Rock Mesa, and the other is at Long Ridge.
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Persid Meteor Shower Observation
August 11, 2009At the Millard County Cosmic Ray Center, we will be watching the Perseids the old fashioned way - by patiently watching the sky - plus we will be using radar equipment to detect meteors by their reflection of TV transmissions. We will feed the radar information into loudspeakers so that we can 'hear' the meteors at the same time we are seeing them.
Every August, the Earth's orbit passes through a point where it is being hit by meteors. They originate from a point in the constellation Perseus, hence the name, Perseid meteor shower. This is one of four main showers that occur regularly throughout the year, but it is the only one visible in the warm Summer months.
This year, 2009, the peak of the shower actually ocurrs on Wednesday. This means that the best time to view the shower is Tuesday night, August 11th, especially after midnight and before 2:00am when the Moon will rise.
Dave Bernson, President of the Salt Lake Astronomical Society, likes to compare the Earth to a car and the meteors to bugs. Before midnight the Earth is like a car and the bugs that hit the car are on the back window. After midnight, the car has turned around and the bugs are hitting the windshield more rapidly.
The Perseids are a pleasure to see and everyone at nearly every age can enjoy them. No equipment is necessary, but the ability to stay up late and be curious.
