AGILE detection of a gamma-ray source off the Galactic Plane

The AGILE satellite, currently in its science performance verification phase, during an observation centered near the Galactic plane (l=334.44, b=10.06) that started on 2007-08-27 12 00 UT, detected significant gamma-ray emission from a source at approximately 33 degrees off the AGILE pointing direction. A preliminary maximum likelihood analysis of the AGILE-GRID (Gamma-Ray Imaging Detector) data obtained between 2007-08-27 14 48 UT and 2007-08-30 10 50 UT for photon energies above 100 MeV results in a detection significance of about 4 sigma.