Highlights from the very-high-energy gamma-ray sky as seen with VERITAS

VERITAS is a gamma-ray observatory composed of an array of four 12-m imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, located in Arizona. VERITAS is sensitive to gamma rays in the very-high-energy (VHE, E > 100 GeV) range, where the sky is dominated by non-thermal emission from extreme environments and extreme astrophysical objects. VERITAS has an extensive science program dedicated to the study of active galactic nuclei and the observation of Galactic sources such as supernova remnants, pulsar wind nebulae, and gamma-ray binaries, among other sources. VERITAS observations have also enabled searches for dark matter, provided insights into the properties of cosmological radiation fields, and allowed multi-messenger searches for high-energy neutrino and gravitational wave emitters. In addition, benefitting from the large optical aperture of its telescopes, VERITAS has developed a program of optical observations which is already delivering significant results.

This talk will present some highlights from VERITAS observations of the high-energy universe.