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A Compton telescope (or Compton camera) is a type of gamma-ray telescope used for the photon-energy range of roughly 1-30 MeV. The term reflects the use of Compton scattering in its detection and characterization of received photons. A common design uses a sequence of two detectors, one to sense Compton scattering of the incoming gamma ray photon, and the second to sense the already-scattered photon which will have a somewhat-lower photon energy. In each of the two detectors, the photon passes through a scintillator consisting of a material that will respond by producing EMR in/near the visible-light band, in turn measured by photon-detection devices, photomultiplier tubes or photodiodes. The two events are detected through multiple detectors, offering a number of measurements based on energy and time, from which the direction and energy of the incoming photon can be worked out to substantial degree. The direction determination is somewhat degenerate (randomly from anywhere on the edge of a circle in the celestial sphere) so gamma-ray bursts with multiple photons offer triangulation often yielding an angular resolution better than a degree.
At higher photon energy (above 30 MeV), other types of detectors are used.
The name Compton can also refer to the (space) Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO).