Abstract The Gamma-Ray Observatory GRO of NASA is expected to make the next major step forward in gamma-ray astronomy. Its four different instruments OSSE, COMPTEL, EGRET, and BATSE have complementary properties and cover more than 5 decades in energy from about 100 keV to 30 GeV. The free flying 3-axis stabilized Observatory is now planned to be launched in 1990 by the Space Shuttle into a low earth orbit of 28.5° inclination. During the first year of the mission a complete sky survey will be performed. After that selected objects will be studied in more detail. Main targets of interest will be discrete galactic sources (steady and transients), external galaxies (especially active galaxies and quasars), diffuse continuum- and line-emission from interstellar space, and the diffuse cosmic gamma-ray background. For selected objects correlated observations with ground level instruments in other ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum are also planned. Because of the more than 10-times higher sensitivity of the GRO-instruments in comparison to previously flown instruments, significant progress in the exploration and understanding of the gamma-ray sky can be expected.
The Gamma-Ray Observatory GRO in perspective
Advances in Space Research ; 10 , 2 ; 243-253
1989-01-01
11 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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