XMM Launched
Explanation:
X-ray astronomy entered a golden age
earlier this month with the successful
launch of the
X-ray Multi-Mirror
(XMM) satellite.
XMM's three huge telescope barrels each hold
58 concentric cylindrical mirrors,
together totaling a surface area rivaling a
tennis court.
Each mirror has been
gold plated to less than one-millimeter thickness to
reflect normally penetrating
X-rays.
ESA's XMM joins
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory
as leading observatories in X-ray astronomy.
The
XMM satellite also carries a small optical and
ultraviolet telescope.
XMM's unusually
elliptical orbit around the Earth peaks nearly one-third
of the way to the Moon.
XMM's observing program during its planned two-year
mission includes monitoring the hot surroundings of
black holes,
the fiery regions surrounding the
centers of galaxies,
the mysterious
X-ray background
light that appears to come from all directions, and the
hot gas that glows between galaxies
and stars.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
