A giant observatory to search for the origin of cosmic rays in southwest China's Sichuan Province was half completed and thousands of its detectors have been put into operation, said the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

The project, known as the Large High-Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO), is located 4.41 km above sea level on Haizi Mountain in Sichuan. Since April 2019, it has launched over two thousand detectors that will probe cosmic rays and provide statistics for scientists to analyze.

Cosmic rays are highly penetrative rays from outer space. Their collisions with atmospheric particles create a variety of different particles including neutrons, mesons and hyperons.

However, the origin of cosmic rays has puzzled scientists for a century. LHAASO is expected to offer a unique perspective on their origin, said Cao Zhen, chief scientist of the project and a researcher with the Institute of High Energy Physics of the CAS.

The whole project will be completed in 2021, according to the CAS.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

Related Links
Large High-Altitude Air Shower Observatory
Stellar Chemistry, The Universe And All Within It

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Astronauts wrap up third spacewalk for Cosmic Particle Detector repairs
Houston TX (SPX) Dec 03, 2019
Expedition 61 Commander Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA Flight Engineer Andrew Morgan concluded their spacewalk at 12:33 p.m. EST. During the six hour and two minute spacewalk, the two astronauts successfully installed a new cooling system for the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS). The crew completed the primary task to install the upgraded cooling system, called the upgraded tracker thermal pump system (UTTPS), completed the power and data cable connection for the system, a ... read more