High zenith angle observations of PKS 2155-304 with the MAGIC telescope
  The high frequency peaked BL Lac PKS 2155-304 with a redshift z=0.116 was
discovered 1997 in the VHE range by the University of Durham Mark 6 gamma-ray
telescope in Australia with a flux corresponding to approx. 0.2 times the Crab
Nebula flux. It was later observed and detected with high significance by the
Southern observatories CANGAROO and H.E.S.S. establishing this source as the
best studied Southern TeV blazar. Detection from the Northern hemisphere was
very difficult due to challenging observation conditions under large zenith
angles. In July 2006, the H.E.S.S. collaboration reported an extraordinary
outburst of VHE gamma-emission. During the outburst, the VHE gamma-ray emission
was found to be variable on the time scales of minutes and at a mean flux of
approx. 7 times the flux observed from the Crab Nebula. The MAGIC collaboration
operates a 17m imaging air Cherenkov Telescope at La Palma (Northern
Hemisphere). Follow up observations of the extraordinary outburst have been
triggered in a Target of Opportunity program by an alert from the H.E.S.S.
collaboration. The measured spectrum and light curve are presented.
