The Distributed Electronic Cosmic-ray Observatory (DECO)

The Distributed Electronic Cosmic-ray Observatory (DECO) is a citizen science project that allows users to detect cosmic rays and other subatomic particles using the cameras within their cell phones. The DECO app enables users to treat the camera image sensor on their cell phones as silicon track detectors. DECO is capable of detecting cosmic rays, atmospheric muons, electrons that undergo multiple Coulomb scattering, and gamma rays that Compton scatter. Additionally, members of the public can access the DECO website to query, download, and analyze events recorded by users. DECO is a platform for outreach, education, research, and engaging the public in astrophysics, particle physics, and nuclear physics. In this talk, we present an overview of DECO, current progress on app development, and DECO as a tool for outreach.