The
XMM-Newton (X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission - Newton) is an orbiting
X-rayX-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 10 to 0.01 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays...
observatoryA space observatory is any instrument in outer space which is used for observation of distant planets, galaxies, and other outer space objects...
, named in honor of Sir
Isaac NewtonSir Isaac Newton FRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian who is perceived and considered by a substantial number of scholars and the general public as one of the most influential men in history...
.
Originally known as the
High Throughput X-ray Spectroscopy Mission, it was launched by the
European Space Agency|owner = |headquarters = Paris|spaceport = Guiana Space Centre|image = ESA LOGO.svg|size = 240px|acronym = ESA|established = 1975|administrator = Jean-Jacques Dordain...
from the Guiana Space Centre at
KourouKourou is a town and commune in French Guiana, an overseas région and département of France located in South America.Kourou is the location of the Guiana Space Centre, France and ESA's main spaceport.-Geography:...
on 10 December 1999 by an
Ariane 5Ariane 5 is a European expendable launch system designed to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit or low Earth orbit. It is manufactured under the authority of the European Space Agency and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales , with EADS Astrium Space Transportation as prime...
rocket. It was placed in a very eccentric 48 hour elliptical orbit at 40°; at its apogee it is nearly 114,000 km from Earth, while the perigee is only 7,000 km.
The satellite weighs 3800 kg, is 10 m long and 16 m in span with its solar arrays deployed.
The
XMM-Newton (X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission - Newton) is an orbiting
X-rayX-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 10 to 0.01 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays...
observatoryA space observatory is any instrument in outer space which is used for observation of distant planets, galaxies, and other outer space objects...
, named in honor of Sir
Isaac NewtonSir Isaac Newton FRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian who is perceived and considered by a substantial number of scholars and the general public as one of the most influential men in history...
.
Originally known as the
High Throughput X-ray Spectroscopy Mission, it was launched by the
European Space Agency|owner = |headquarters = Paris|spaceport = Guiana Space Centre|image = ESA LOGO.svg|size = 240px|acronym = ESA|established = 1975|administrator = Jean-Jacques Dordain...
from the Guiana Space Centre at
KourouKourou is a town and commune in French Guiana, an overseas région and département of France located in South America.Kourou is the location of the Guiana Space Centre, France and ESA's main spaceport.-Geography:...
on 10 December 1999 by an
Ariane 5Ariane 5 is a European expendable launch system designed to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit or low Earth orbit. It is manufactured under the authority of the European Space Agency and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales , with EADS Astrium Space Transportation as prime...
rocket. It was placed in a very eccentric 48 hour elliptical orbit at 40°; at its apogee it is nearly 114,000 km from Earth, while the perigee is only 7,000 km.
The satellite weighs 3800 kg, is 10 m long and 16 m in span with its solar arrays deployed. It holds three X-ray telescopes, developed by Media Lario of Italy, each of which contains 58
Wolter-type concentric mirrorsA Wolter telescope is a telescope for X-rays using only grazing incidence optics. Visible light telescopes are built with lenses or parabolic mirrors at nearly normal incidence. Neither works well for X-rays. Lenses for visible light are made of a transparent material with an index of refraction...
. The combined collecting area is 4,300 cm². The three European Photon Imaging Cameras (EPIC) are sensitive over the energy range 0.2
keVKev can refer to:*Chav, a social group in the United Kingdom.*Kiloelectronvolt, a unit of energy who symbol is "KeV".*Kevin, a given name occasionally shortened to "Kev".*Kev Hawkins, a fictional character.*A Boy racer....
to 12 keV. Other instruments onboard are two reflection grating
spectrometerA spectrometer is an instrument used to measure properties of light over a specific portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically used in spectroscopic analysis to identify materials. The variable measured is most often the light's intensity but could also, for instance, be the polarization...
s which are sensitive below ~2 keV, and a 30 cm diameter
Ritchey-ChretienThe Ritchey-Chrétien telescope or RCT is a specialized Cassegrain telescope designed to eliminate coma, thus providing a large field of view compared to a more conventional configuration. An RCT has a hyperbolic primary and a hyperbolic secondary mirror...
optical/UV telescope.
The mission was proposed in 1984 and approved in 1985; a project team was formed in 1993 and development work began in 1996. The satellite was constructed and tested from March 1997 to September 1999. The original mission lifetime was two years, it has now been extended for further observations until at least 2010. These observations are managed and archived at the European Space Astronomy Centre (formerly known as
VILSPAThe European Space Astronomy Centre is the ESA's centre for space science, which means Astronomy as well as Solar System exploration. It is located in Villanueva de la Cañada, close to Madrid in Spain and hosts the science operation centres for all ESA astronomy and planetary missions together...
) at Villafranca, Spain. The information is also processed and archived at the XMM-Newton Survey Science Centre at the
University of LeicesterThe University of Leicester is a research led university based in Leicester, England, with approximately 20,000 registered students - about 13,000 of them full-time students and 7,000 part-time and/or distance learning...
, England.
Observations & Discoveries
It was used to discover the 10 billion light years from Earth galaxy cluster
XMMXCS 2215-1738XMMXCS 2215-1738 is a galaxy cluster that lies 10 billion light-years away, or redshift z=1.45 . It was discovered by the XMM Cluster Survey in 2006....
, as well as the 7-billion light year away
2XMM J08302XMM J0830 is a very large galaxy cluster that lies 7.7 billion light-years away. It was discovered by ESA's XMM Newton and the Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona in 2008.[, DR EMILY BALDWIN, ASTRONOMY NOW, August 27, 2008]It is the largest known galaxy cluster at red shift z >= 1,...
[ http://astronomynow.com/080827XMMdiscoversmonstergalaxycluster.html "XMM discovers monster galaxy cluster", DR EMILY BALDWIN, ASTRONOMY NOW, August 27, 2008]
The object
SCP 06F6SCP 06F6 is an astronomical object of unknown type, discovered on 21 February 2006 in the constellation Boötesduring a survey of galaxy cluster CL 1432.5+3332.8 with the Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys Wide Field Channel....
discovered by the
Hubble Space TelescopeThe Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by the space shuttle in April 1990. It is named after the American astronomer Edwin Hubble. Although not the first space telescope, the Hubble is one of the largest and most versatile, and is well-known as both a vital...
(HST) in February 2006 was then observed by XMM Newton in early August 2006, and appeared to show an X-ray glow around it two orders of magnitude more luminous than that of supernovae.
External links