Cosmic rays are the nuclei of the common elements like hydrogen, helium, iron that have been accelerated to high energies somewhere in the universe.

When Alan Watson’s original cosmic ray detector on the Yorkshire Moors proved to be too small, he built a better one covering 3000 square kilometres in Argentina.

Professor Alan Watson from the University of Leeds is the winner of the 2011 Faraday Medal awarded by the Institute of Physics for his outstanding leadership within the Pierre Auger Observatory, and the insights he has provided to the origin and nature of ultra high energy cosmic rays.

About the film

Filmed on location at Haverah Park cosmic ray observatory, Yorkshire Moors; Department of Physics, University of Leeds

Director: Martyn Bull
Producer: Thomas Delfs
Camera: Steve Allen
Editor: Jacinta Madison
Music: Ram Khatabakhsh
Cast: Alan Watson

Production company: Orca Media
Client: Institute of Physics