The Haleakala gamma ray observatory

Abstract A 10 m 2 multi-mirror telescope for observing Cherenkov light signals from atmospheric cascades is now operating at Mount Haleakala, Maui, Hawaii. It differs from other atmospheric Cherenkov detectors in accepting pulses that originate from single photoelectrons, employing two sets of 18 optically independent phototubes in a logic system with nanosecond time resolution to reject ambient light from the night sky. With an angular aperture of 1.3 × 10 −4 sr, cosmic ray showers are observed at a rate of ∼ 0.5 hz at the zenith, with nearly complete rejection of ambient light. This rate for hadronic showers implies an effective threshold near 100 GeV for electromagnetic showers. Two regions of the sky, one centered on the source and the other separated by from it by 3.6° are simultaneously monitored. Examples of observations of episodic and periodic (pulsar) sources are given.