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A review of recent results in gamma-ray astronomy obtained from high-altitude balloonsThis paper reviews recent results in gamma-ray astronomy obtained from experiments flown on high-altitude balloons. New generation balloon-borne imaging experiments have produced the first gamma-ray maps of the Galactic center (GC) region. Balloon flights of new gamma-ray spectrometers with improved sensitivity have provided important new information on the GC annihilation line. For the first time, the narrow 511 keV line as been resolved (FWHM approx. = 3 keV). A very interesting spectral feature at approximately 170 keV has been attributed to backscattered annihilation, probably from the vicinity of a compact object. New results from the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO)/OSSE and Granat/SIGMA experiments on the annihilation line, when considered together with the recent balloon results, have added greatly to our knowledge and understanding of the origin and distribution of this emission. Balloon-borne instruments have made important measurements of gamma-ray continuum and line emission from SN 1987A. The GRIS spectrometer unambiguously resolved the 847 and 1238 keV line emission from radioactive Co-56 synthesized during the explosion. This data indicated that simple spherically symmetric and homogeneous models did not provide an adequate description of the expanding SN shell.
Document ID
19950031503
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Teegarden, B. J.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, US, United States)
Date Acquired
August 16, 2013
Publication Date
June 1, 1994
Publication Information
Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
Volume: 92
Issue: 2
ISSN: 0067-0049
Subject Category
Astronomy
Accession Number
95A63102
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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