On October 5, 2019, we held the cosmic ray observation event “Invisible Cosmic Rays See Everything! — Experience Cutting-Edge Particle and Astrophysics —” at S-BIRD, a hub for industrial promotion and talent development in Iida City, Nagano Prefecture. The event was open to junior high, high school, and technical college students nationwide, and included an activity presentation by students from Hiroo Gakuen High School.
The event was held in two parts.
In the first part, Professor Emeritus Masaki Fukushima of the University of Tokyo, of the Telescope Array project, gave a seminar titled “Unraveling the Mystery of Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays.” The talk covered a wide range of topics, from the history of the discovery of radiation and cosmic rays to cutting-edge research on ultra-high-energy cosmic rays.
In the second part, participants used detectors they had built themselves to carry out a hands-on measurement experiment. They got to see for themselves how the rate of “secondary cosmic rays” reaching the ground changes depending on the angle at which the detector is pointed.
Going from a seminar on cutting-edge research to operating a detector and taking measurements with their own hands, we hope the experience made the phenomenon of cosmic rays feel a little more real to the participants. We look forward to holding more outreach events like this one in other locations going forward.