Sorry for the cross-posting, but this will be of interest to 3D model builders.

A collaboration of scientists from 19 countries is constructing the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina, the world's largest cosmic-ray detector. This covers an area 3000 km^2 in Mendoza Province, Argentina, and aims to detect the highest energy particles in the Universe through their interaction products in the atmosphere (cascades of billions of high-energy particles traveling at nearly the speed of light). A kmz file is provided with the location of the components of the Observatory, and by following this Web link, you can get more information on the project as well as download some 3D models done with SketchUp of Observatory structures viewable with Google Earth 4.

Note on 8/28/2006: The 3D models (~10 MB) have been updated and expanded, and screenshots are added below.

Stephane Coutu
Associate Professor of Physics
Penn State University