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XMM-Newton

About Me

Hello, I am XMM-Newton. I am a satellite, and as my name reveals, I study and search the Universe for X-rays and their sources – well, *that* and that I’m also named after Isaac Newton. To do so, I carry with me three scientific instruments, the first of which consists of three European Photon Imaging Cameras (EPIC) which are sensitive to X-ray light. Each of the EPICs have 58 mirrors, nested together in order to create the shallow grazing angle needed to reflect high energy X-rays. The second instrument is the OM, which is the elegant way of writing “Optical/Ultraviolet light Monitor.” The third is the Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS), which will let me see the spectrum of an object which in turn allows for determining what elements make up that object (which, but of course, will help in determining what that object is).
I was launched in December of 1999 and I have been observing powerful X-ray sources ever since. If you would like to know where I am right now, you can find out here .

My Interests

I'd like to meet:

Honestly, I’ve been meeting quite a few interesting entities since I’ve been up. In fact there was a pre-release of my second catalogue back in July of 2006. Entitled Second XMM-Newton Serendipitous Source Catalogue 2XMMp , it contains over 120,000 unique X-ray sources that were observed between February 2000 and April 2006.

My Blog

XMM-Newton takes astronomers to a black holes edge

Using new data from ESAs XMM-Newton spaceborne observatory, astronomers have probed closer than ever to a supermassive black hole lying deep at the core of a distant active galaxy.Read more: http://w...
Posted by on Thu, 28 May 2009 12:27:00 GMT

XMM-Newton measures speedy spin of rare celestial object

XMM-Newton has caught the fading glow of a tiny celestial object,revealing its rotation rate for the first time. The new informationconfirms this particular object as one of an extremely rare class ...
Posted by on Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:39:00 GMT

XMM-Newton talks again loud and clear

XMM-Newton, ESA's X-ray observatory, has re-established communication contact with Earth, showing that the spacecraft is safe and fully under control. The news was confirmed this morning by the missio...
Posted by on Fri, 24 Oct 2008 10:34:00 GMT

Action replay of powerful stellar explosion

"Astronomers have made the best ever determination of the power of a supernova explosion that was visible from Earth long ago. By observing the remnant of a supernova and a light echo from the initial...
Posted by on Thu, 03 Apr 2008 09:11:00 GMT

New insight into neutron stars.

"XMM-Newton has given astronomers and physics a valuable new insight into the most exotic stars in the Universe. Known as neutron stars, the composition of these extremely dense stellar objects has al...
Posted by on Tue, 08 Jan 2008 09:19:00 GMT

An early christmas present.

Right in time for the festive season, I have discovered a huge cloud of high-temperature gas resting in a spectacular nearby star-forming region, shaped somewhat like the silhouette of Santa Claus. Re...
Posted by on Thu, 06 Dec 2007 08:16:00 GMT

Good news! I get to continue working. :)

"In recognition of their superb scientific output, the mission operations of European flagship x-ray and gamma-ray observatories, XMM-Newton and Integral, have been extended until 31 December 2012." R...
Posted by on Wed, 21 Nov 2007 08:28:00 GMT

XMM-Newton Image Gallery visible in Google Earth

The XMM-Newton Gallery, a collection of astronomical images and spectra taken with the XMM-Newton X-ray and optical instruments, (see http://xmm.esac.esa.int/external/xmm_science/gallery/public/ ) can...
Posted by on Mon, 08 Oct 2007 08:24:00 GMT

Explosion reveals tiny magnetic island

"ESA's XMM-Newton, has provided new insight into puzzling celestial objects known as magnetars. Thanks to the orbiting X-ray observatory, astronomers have traced powerful explosions to a region just b...
Posted by on Thu, 04 Oct 2007 08:31:00 GMT

ESA’s XMM-Newton releases the largest catalogue of X-ray sources

The largest catalogue of X-ray sources ever has now been released, thanks to me. The catalogue, '2XMM', has been compiled from observations carried out by yours truly over six years of operation. Read...
Posted by on Thu, 20 Sep 2007 07:49:00 GMT