GRAPES-3 experimental system

Abstract The Gamma Ray Astronomy at Pev EnergieS phase-3 (GRAPES-3) experiment, located at 11.4 ∘ N latitude, 76.7 ∘ E longitude and 2200 m altitude on the beautiful slopes of the Nilgiris hills at Ooty, India, consists of a world class indigenously developed detector system. The faithful operation and continuous improvement in the design of detectors, its associated electronics and the analysis software over a period of two decades has resulted in a better understanding of the universe at high energies. The GRAPES-3 is capable of studying the high energy cosmic ray composition in the knee region of the spectrum (Gupta, 2005) [1] solar flares, coronal mass ejection, and acceleration of particles in the atmospheric electric field. The core elements of the experiment are plastic scintillator (Sc) detectors and proportional counters (PRCs). The current status of the GRAPES-3 experimental system along with plans for the future upgrade are presented.