Gamma Ray Sky Surveys

Abstract

Prior to the current Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (Compton) mission, no comprehensive all-sky gamma-ray surveys had been performed. There were, however, some surveys performed over limited energy bands and/or over portions of the sky. These include the HEAO-A4 hard X-ray survey and the COS-B and SAS-2 high-energy gamma-ray surveys. The early work forms a basis for understanding and appreciating the Compton results, and so is reviewed in Section 2.