Abstract :
Summary form only given, as follows. The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, the second of NASA´S Great Observatories, was launched on April 5, 1991, and began operations on April 15, 1991. After a month of verification tests, the observatory began a 15-month long all-sky survey at gamma ray energies. During the observations, the four scientific instruments have studied a wide variety of astrophysical topics, including solar flares, pulsars, and active galaxies. Early results on the distribution of gamma-ray bursts indicate large-scale isotrophy, contrary to many expectations. Several quasars appear to be extremely luminous in high energy gamma rays.