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Compton Spectrometer and Imager
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<p>The Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) is a <a href="/facts/NASA/TIMCV0yV">NASA</a> <a href="/facts/Explorers_Program/UAWJXqxP">SMEX</a> astrophysics mission that will launch a soft <a href="/facts/Gamma-ray_astronomy/s59YdwaX">gamma-ray telescope</a> (0.2–5 MeV) in 2027. It is a wide-field compact <a href="/facts/Compton_telescope/LGKa7vks">Compton telescope</a> (CCT) that is uniquely suited to investigate the "MeV gap" (0.1–10 MeV). It provides imaging, spectroscopy, and polarimetry of astrophysical sources, and its germanium detectors provide excellent energy resolution for emission line measurements. </p><p>The germanium detectors have an instantaneous field of view of more than 25% of the sky, and they are surrounded on the sides and bottom by active shields, which provide background rejection while also allowing for detection of gamma-ray bursts and other gamma-ray flares across the majority of the sky. </p>