Observation of the Crab Nebula with an ultraviolet Cherenkov camera
Abstract
Gamma-ray astronomy at energies of a few hundred GeV is now well established, with the observation of emission from the Crab Nebula by at least five independent groups. The technique is based on the detection of the Cherenkov light emitted by gamma-ray induced air showers. It requires clear, moonless nights, which seriously curtail the useful duty cycle. It is shown here that by detecting the UV Cherenkov photons instead of the full visible Cherenkov spectrum, the observations can be extended to moonlit nights, with lower constraints on the background light from the moon and stars, but with a somewhat higher energy threshold.
- Publication:
-
Astroparticle Physics
- Pub Date:
- February 1996
- DOI:
- 10.1016/0927-6505(95)00042-9
- Bibcode:
- 1996APh.....4..227S