Published in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 111: 1193-1222, 1999 October
astro-ph/9906501

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VERY HIGH ENERGY GAMMA-RAY ASTRONOMY

Michael Catanese

Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-3160
mcatanese@cfa.harvard.edu

and

Trevor C. Weekes

Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, P.O. Box 97, Amado, AZ 85645-0097
tweekes@cfa.harvard.edu


Abstract. We present a review of the current status of very high energy gamma-ray astronomy. The development of the atmospheric Cerenkov imaging technique for ground-based gamma-ray astronomy has led to a rapid growth in the number of observatories. The detection of TeV gamma-rays from active galactic nuclei was unexpected and is providing new insights into the emission mechanisms in the jets. Next-generation telescopes are under construction and will increase dramatically the knowledge available at this extreme end of the cosmic electromagnetic spectrum.


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