The Enegetic Ray Global Observatory (ERGO) project is an ambitious attempt to equip students and teachers around the world with cosmic ray detectors which they can use in the classroom.  Students could monitor the cosmic ray flux passing through the unit at different times of day to see if is variable, or they could move it to the tops of tall buildings, to see how the flux is affected.

But the units serve a grander purpose:  Each one is connected to the internet, and functions as a single pixel of a vast globe-spanning telescope, allowing the project scientists to detect cosmic rays from all over the world and gain a much broader perspective of how these mysterious high-energy particles interact with the planet.

Each unit contains a Muon detector (A small geiger counter which registers individual cosmic ray particles), an embedded ethernet controller to allow it to talk to the internet, and a GPS receiver so that each recorded event can be accurately labelled with time and location.

If you or your school are interested in getting involved with this program, visit the ERGO webpage and follow the appropriate channels to get in touch