The MAGIC Telescope for Gamma-Ray Astronomy above 30 GeV

Abstract

The MAGIC telescope is presently at its commissioning phase at theRoque de los Muchachos Observatory (ORM) on the island of La Palma.MAGIC will become the largest ground-based gamma ray telescope in theworld, being sensitive to photons of energies as low as 30 GeV. Thespectral range between 10 and 300 GeV remains to date mostly unexplored.Observations in this region of the spectrum are expected to providekey data for the understanding of a wide variety of astrophysicalphenomena belonging to the so-called ``non thermal Universe'', like theprocesses in the nuclei of active galaxies, the radiation mechanisms ofpulsars and supernova remnants, and the enigmatic gamma-ray bursts.And overview of the telescope and its Physics goals is presented.