COS-B - Overview

The COS-B Team at the Launch

Cos-B was launched on 9 August 1975. Its scientific mission was to study in detail the sources of extra-terrestrial gamma radiation at energies above about 30 MeV. The principal objectives were:

• Study spectrum and distribution of galactic gamma rays
• Flux and distribution of extragalactic gamma-ray emission
• Study known point sources
• Search for new point sources

The COS-B Galaxy Map (Click to enlarge - 160Kb)

The originally foreseen duration of the mission was two years, but in fact Cos-B was finally switched off on 25th April 1982, having functioned successfully for 6 years and 8 months. During this time an extensive survey of the Galaxy was made in the energy range 50 MeV to 5 GeV.

The Caravane Collaboration built the gamma-ray telescope and performed the bulk of the scientific data reduction.

A summary of the major findings of the mission is given in the context of the multi-disciplinary nature of the readers of this web site.