Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
Photons spanning over 17 decades in energy have been detected from Markarian 421. The discovery of >100 MeV photons by the EGRET instrument on board the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory led to the discovery of >300 GeV photons by the Whipple group using the air Čerenkov method. In May 1996 the source underwent an unprecedented outburst at these energies, inspiring observations with the VLBA to determine whether such high energy flares are associated with changes in the milliarcsecond structure of this BL Lac object.