The Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment (STACEE), is a
gamma ray detector located near
Albuquerque,
New Mexico. Observations with STACEE began in and concluded in . Gamma rays were observed from objects such as the
Crab Nebula
The Crab Nebula (catalogue designations Messier object, M1, New General Catalogue, NGC 1952, Taurus (constellation), Taurus A) is a supernova remnant and pulsar wind nebula in the constellation of Taurus (constellation), Taurus. The common name ...
, a
supernova remnant, and
Markarian 421
Markarian 421 (Mrk 421, Mkn 421) is a blazar located in the constellation Ursa Major. The object is an active galaxy and a BL Lacertae object, and is a strong source of gamma rays. It is about 397 million light-years (redshift: z=0.0308 eq. 122M ...
, a
blazar. STACEE uses the
heliostat
A heliostat (from ''helios'', the Greek word for ''sun'', and ''stat'', as in stationary) is a device that includes a mirror, usually a plane mirror, which turns so as to keep reflecting sunlight toward a predetermined target, compensating ...
s and space on the
receiver tower of the
National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF)
Operated by Sandia National Laboratories for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF) is the only test facility of this type in the United States. The NSTTF’s primary goal is to provide experimental ...
operated by the
Sandia National Laboratories on the grounds of the
Kirtland Air Force Base
Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator Col. Roy ...
. In the daytime, the facility is used for
solar energy
Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an essenti ...
research. During the night STACEE uses the heliostats to reflect the brief flashes of
ÄŒerenkov radiation caused by gamma rays hitting the
upper atmosphere to photodetectors mounted in the tower. STACEE is a
nonimaging telescope, meaning that it detects the light from a portion of the sky, but does not resolve the light into an image.
The detector is operated in consortium with several universities, including
McGill University,
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...
, the
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the
University of California, Santa Cruz,
Columbia University, and the
University of Alberta.
External links
* STACEE is located at {{coord, 34.9623, -106.5097, type:landmark_region:US, name=STACEE, display=inline,title
UCLA STACEE Page Gamma-ray telescopes