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A ''Compton telescope'' (also known as Compton camera or Compton imager) is a 
Compton cameras are usually applied to detect gamma rays in the energy range where Compton scattering is the dominating interaction process, from a few hundred keV to several MeV. They are applied in fields such as
gamma-ray
A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol γ or \gamma), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from the radioactive decay of atomic nucleus, atomic nuclei. It consists of the shortest wavelength electromagnetic wav ...
detector which utilizes Compton scattering
Compton scattering, discovered by Arthur Holly Compton, is the scattering of a high frequency photon after an interaction with a charged particle, usually an electron. If it results in a decrease in energy (increase in wavelength) of the photon ...
to determine the origin of the observed gamma rays.
Compton cameras are usually applied to detect gamma rays in the energy range where Compton scattering is the dominating interaction process, from a few hundred keV to several MeV. They are applied in fields such as astrophysics
Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...
, nuclear medicine
Nuclear medicine or nucleology is a medical specialty involving the application of radioactive substances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Nuclear imaging, in a sense, is "radiology done inside out" because it records radiation emitting ...
, and nuclear threat detection.
In astrophysics, the most famous Compton telescopes was COMPTEL aboard the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory
The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) was a space observatory detecting photons with energies from 20 k eV to 30 GeV, in Earth orbit from 1991 to 2000. The observatory featured four main telescopes in one spacecraft, covering X-ra ...
, which pioneered the observation of the gamma-ray sky in the energy range between 0.75 and 30 MeV. A potential successor is NCT - the Nuclear Compton Telescope.
Telescopes
Astrophysics
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