Observation of the giant radio galaxy M87 at TeV energies with the H.E.S.S. Cherenkov telescopes

The giant radio galaxyM87was observed at TeV energies with the High Energy Stereoscopic System(H.E.S.S.)Cherenkov telescopes in 2003, during the construction phase, and in 2004/2005, with the full four-telescope setup. M87 is of special interest for TeV observations since it is an active galactic nucleus (AGN) which does not belong to the class of blazars, which are so far the only confirmed extragalactic objects found to emit very high- energy (VHE)gamma-rays. The observations were motivated by the HEGRA evidence for TeV gamma-ray emission from the direction of M87. The results of the H.E.S.S. observations establishing M87 as a TeV gamma-ray emitter are presented