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| XMM-Newton reveals a Be star and an absorbed QSO |
| ESA XMM-Newton X-ray observatory, launched last December and now in its routine phase
of observations, has a field of view large enough that whilst observing known targets it is also
registering X-ray emission from many other objects in the neighbouring area of the sky. |
| Date: 19 Oct 2000 |
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| XMM-Newton mosaics the Coma cluster of galaxies |
| Galaxies in the Universe are often to be found in clusters. Our own Milky Way is a member of a small
cluster of galaxies, the Local Group. But clusters also exist that contain thousands of galaxies.
XMM-Newton has obtained a remarkably vivid mosaic of one of the most famous of these, the Coma cluster.
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| Date: 17 Oct 2000 |
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| Looking into the cauldron of an exploded star |
| Supernovae are one of the most cataclysmic events in the Universe,
violent explosions by which stars end their lives. A star may then have
a brightness over a billion times that of our Sun and outshine the galaxy
in which it lies. Their effects can be observed centuries later. XMM-Newton
has been observing the remnants of the Tycho supernova, named after
the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. |
| Date: 13 Sep 2000 |
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| X-ray observatories observe same targets |
| XMM-Newton has this summer passed into its operational phase and NASA's Chandra X-ray observatory
has just celebrated its first year in orbit. The world's foremost X-ray astronomy missions will now each be
contributing to a greater understanding of the X-ray universe.
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| Date: 13 Sep 2000 |
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| I spy with my little eye: XMM-Newton in the sky! |
| After being detected using telescopes equipped with electronic CCD imaging cameras, ESA's X-ray space observatory has been sighted visually for the very first time. |
| Date: 21 Jun 2000 |
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| XMM-Newton reveals details of the Castor sextuplet |
| Behind the apparently simple brightness of certain stars there is
often a fascinating complexity. That is the case for the particularly
interesting Castor stellar system upon which XMM-Newton has shed new
light. |
| Date: 19 Jun 2000 |
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| XMM-Newton reveals a cluster of galaxies |
| Serendipity, or chance discovery, plays a big role in astronomy. Observing one celestial target astronomers often
find, in a corner of their telescope's field of view, another interesting and perhaps unknown object. XMM-Newton
has made one such discovery. |
| Date: 05 Jun 2000 |
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| Just as XMM-Newton happens to be looking, a probable black hole system suddenly dims |
| XMM-Newton is blessed with good luck! During the current calibration campaign of its
science instruments ESA's new X-ray observatory has chanced on a sudden and dramatic
alteration in a binary star system, whose properties had not changed for thirty years. |
| Date: 22 May 2000 |
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| XMM-Newton peeks through Lockman Hole |
| To demonstrate the remarkable ability of XMM-Newton to discover faint
X-ray sources, a series of observations is being made in the area
known as the 'Lockman hole'.
In the Ursa Major northern hemisphere constellation - the
third-largest constellation better known as Great Bear or as the Big
Dipper - the Lockman hole region is one of the best studied fields in
X-ray astronomy. In this direction absorbing material such as dust
and galactic hydrogen is at its most sparse, and through this 'hole'
sensitive searches for extragalactic objects hold great promise and
have already brought a much greater understanding of X-ray background
radiation. |
| Date: 17 May 2000 |
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| XMM-Newton views a cluster of jewels |
| Calibration of XMM-Newton's science instruments is continuing at a steady pace in view of the start of the operational phase of the mission next month. Since the end of commissioning, ESA's new X-ray space observatory has been viewing an average of one or more calibration target every day.
One such target has been NGC 2516, a young open cluster in the southern hemisphere. |
| Date: 08 May 2000 |
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| XMM-Newton seen high over Europe |
| Teamwork by an amateur astronomer and a retired member of the European Space Agency has resulted in the first picture of XMM-Newton seen from the Northern Hemisphere. ESA's new X-ray observatory - launched on 10 December 1999 and now going through the calibration phase of its science instruments - had already been snapped on 11 January by Australian amateur Gordon Garradd.
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| Date: 17 Apr 2000 |
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| First XMM-Newton Science Working Team meeting since launch |
| Calibration operations providing a lot of extremely interesting data
The first XMM-Newton Science Working Team meeting since the launch of the X-ray observatory last December has just been held at Vilspa on 5/6 April. It was an exceptionally well attended gathering. Convened by Project Scientist Fred Jansen, all those present had much to discuss, with new X-ray data and images to show.
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| Date: 14 Apr 2000 |
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| Smooth sailing through the first eclipses |
| As the Science Working Team met in Vilspa, the XMM-Newton spacecraft was preparing to enter its first eclipse,
which Mission controllers in Darmstadt were following closely. |
| Date: 14 Apr 2000 |
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| Xmm-Newton's built-in watchdog is put to the test |
| All satellites are designed to face up to unexpected circumstances. XMM-Newton, ESA's new X-ray observatory launched last December, proved the reliability of its onboard systems when the spacecraft placed itself in standby mode on 2 April. |
| Date: 14 Apr 2000 |
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| Scientists get the key to XMM-Newton |
| The XMM-Newton space observatory has formally been handed over to the science team that will be operating it for the years to come. Following a commissioning phase review, held at the mission's Science Operations Centre in Villafranca on 8/9 March, ESA management has declared that the commissioning of the spacecraft and the instruments is completed. Operations can now commence with the start of the calibration of its science instruments, essential before regular science observations can begin in June. |
| Date: 17 Mar 2000 |
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| XMM-Newton rediscovers old Exosat source |
| During operations to fine tune the XMM-Newton Optical Monitor, the
observatory was pointed close to the Large Magallenic Cloud galaxy, to a
location where 20 years ago ESA's first X-ray observatory, Exosat,
discovered a bright new X-ray source which astronomers named
EXO 0748-676. This source consists of two stars orbiting around each
other in only 3.8 hours. One of these stars is a neutron star,
essentially a giant atomic nucleus 20 km in diameter. This star is so
dense that a teaspoon full would weigh a hundred million tonnes! The
other star is a normal star, much like the Sun, but distorted into an
egg-like shape by the intense gravitational field of the neutron star.
Gas is being pulled from the normal star and is falling onto the neutron
star via a giant swirling accretion disk. As the gas spirals in the
accretion disk and falls onto the neutron star it reaches temperatures of
several million degrees - hot enough to emit X-rays.
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| Date: 10 Mar 2000 |
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| XMM-Newton spies mother Earth |
| An unexpected spin-off from the XMM-Newton commissioning phase, the
spacecraft has snapped a picture of mother Earth. The image was taken
with one of the two Small Visual Monitoring Cameras (VMC). |
| Date: 18 Feb 2000 |
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| Stargazing - ESA's 3rd XMM-Newton competition |
| At the press conference to present XMM-Newton's first images, ESA announced its third XMM-Newton competition, Stargazing. This competition is open to young Europeans between 16 and 18 years old, in the final two years of secondary school. The challenge is to make a proposal for a scientific observation with ESA's XMM-Newton Space Observatory.
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| Date: 11 Feb 2000 |
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| INFO 03-2000: Eye-openers from XMM-Newton |
| The first pictures from ESA's new X-ray space observatory fully demonstrate the capabilities of the spacecraft's telescopes and its science instruments. The images were officially presented on 9 February at the XMM-Newton Science Operations Centre in Villafranca, Spain. |
| Date: 09 Feb 2000 |
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| PR 07-2000: ESA's X-ray space observatory XMM takes first pictures |
| The European Space Agency's X-ray space observatory has taken its very first pictures giving new views on the Universe. The commissioning images confirm that the XMM
spacecraft, its X-ray telescopes and science instruments are functioning perfectly, to the great satisfaction of all involved. |
| Date: 02 Feb 2000 |
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