COS-B: Gamma-Ray Photon Events Catalog from ESA Satellite, 1975-1982

Between 17 August 1975 and 25 April 1982, the European Space Agency's COS-B satellite made 65 observations in the 50 MeV to 5 GeV energy range. The catalog contains photon event data, observation logs, and FITS-format images generated by NASA HEASARC from the final ESA database produced in 1985. The data includes target names, sky coordinates, start times, and photon positions projected onto 1024x1024 pixel images.

Use Cases

• Analyze gamma-ray source distributions based on photon RA and DEC coordinates mentioned in the description
• Study observation patterns based on the log of 65 observation intervals with target names and start times
• Process and visualize astronomical images based on the 1024x1024 pixel FITS files described
• Correlate photon events with observation periods based on the combined OBSLI, OURLI, and GAMLI datasets

Strengths

• Data spans a defined 6.5-year operational period from 1975 to 1982
• Includes 65 distinct observation intervals, with 15 at high galactic latitudes
• Final database was produced by ESA in 1985, providing a consolidated source

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Data format (FITS/BIN) requires specialized tools like BROWSE, XIMAGE, or FTOOLS for access

Provenance

Source

European Space Agency (original data), NASA HEASARC (hosted service)

Collection Method

Collected by the COS-B satellite's spark chamber telescope and processed into a final database by ESA.

Time Range

17 August 1975 to 25 April 1982

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 18:52:13.233876; freshness should be verified

Geography

Celestial coordinates (RA and DEC)