Since the start of operation of the current generation of
atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes in 2004-06, the field of ground-based
gamma-ray astronomy has experienced a phase of great expansion which
eventually brought it to a par with other fields of observational
astrophysics as an established area of astronomical research. One of the
principal fields which benefited from the new results of very-high-energy
(VHE; E > 100 GeV) astronomy is the study of extragalactic relativistic
jets, with the detection of over 40 AGN sources in the past 5 years by the
experiments H.E.S.S., MAGIC and VERITAS. Albeit dominated by blazars, the
VHE sky is now being populated with other objects, most interestingly a
few nearby Radio Galaxies such as M 87 and Cen A, whose TeV discovery has
prompted renewed research not only in jet and SMBH physics but also
carries important implications to cosmic-ray physics. In this seminar I
will present the field of VHE gamma-ray astronomy from an observational
point of view and quickly review the status of its current scientific
results. I will emphasise on the studies of extragalactic jets from
AGNs,concentrating on the new physics that has been developed from it,
paying particular attention to the study of radio galaxies such as M 87,
which is one of the concentration areas of my work. I will conclude with a
brief exposition
and the scientific propsects for the planned next-generation of
ground-based gamma-ray telescopes, the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA),
which counts with growing Brazilian involvement.