Where is the world's highest-energy cosmic-ray detector?

The Pierre Auger Observatory is located in western Argentina, spanning a huge area in the province of Mendoza and nearby regions. It is designed to detect cosmic rays, some of the most energetic particles known in the universe. The observatory combines surface detectors with fluorescence telescopes to capture particle showers created when cosmic rays hit Earth’s atmosphere. Scientists use the data to investigate where these extreme particles come from and how they gain such enormous energies.