Astronomy TodayGamma-Ray Space Telescopes |
What was the COS-B satellite? |
COS-B was an X-ray and gamma-ray telescope that was operated by the European Space Agency from August 9, 1975, to April 25, 1982. Important scientific results achieved by COS-B included the first gamma-ray map of the Milky Way galaxy, observations of the Cygnus X-3 pulsar, and a catalog of twenty-five powerful gamma-ray sources.
A Cherenkov gamma-ray telescope detects radiation that is the result of electrically charged particles passing through a medium at a speed faster than light normally passes through that particular medium.