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A NASA orbiting observatory carrying four gamma-ray astronomy experiments designed to accomplish mapping, spectroscopy, and the detection and location of bursts over a range of energies. It was launched from the Space Shuttle in April 1991. Originally
known simply as the "Gamma Ray Observatory", it was subsequently named in honour of the American physicist A. H. Compton (1892-1962). Its experiments include EGRET, able to give good resolution of the energy spectrum of high-energy gamma-ray sources, and relatively good source positions. It was used to produce a catalogue of gamma-ray sources, including supernova remnants, stellar OB associations and
active galactic nuclei. BATSE (the Burst and Transient Source Experiment) was designed
to find gamma-ray bursters and conduct full sky surveys.
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