Overview
KAGRA Observatory is located in Gifu prefecture, Japan. The observatory was established in 2016 to operate KAGRA gravitational-wave telescope, which is a 3 km laser interferometer with cryogenic sapphire mirrors, located 200 m underground site in Mt. Ikenoyama.
The main features of this gravitational wave telescope are that it is located in an underground with low ground vibration to avoid disturbances and that the sapphire mirror is cooled down to cryogenic temperatures (20 K) to suppress thermal noise.We aim to achieve the sensitivity to observe binary neutron star coalescence events up to 400 million light years away.
In 2015, exactly 100 years after Einstein predicted gravitational waves in the theory of general relativity, LIGO in the United States detected gravitational waves from a binary black hole coalescence event. KAGRA was completed in 2019, and observations started in February 2020.
A new goal is to create a gravitational wave astronomy with an international collaboration. It is important to determine the direction of the gravitational wave source with high accuracy by the simultaneous observation by the international network of Japan, USA, and Europe.
Information
Address : 238 Higashi-Mozumi, Kamioka-cho, Hida-shi,
Gifu Prefecture 506-1205 Japan
TEL : 0578-85-2343 FAX : 0578-85-2346
Land : 39,327 m2 Building : 444 m2
Altitude : 350 m
Access
TOYAMA Sta. → JR Takayama Line (50 min.) → INOTANI Sta.→Bus (10 min.)→MOZUMI Bus Stop
→Walk (5 min.)
