The New Scientist has run a story regarding the XUES (X-ray Evolving Universe Spectroscopy) X-ray astronomical telescope. The project has been selected to launch in 2018 and is the first new X-ray programme since the launch of the Chandra-X observatory. Professor Turner of Leicester University in the UK is Chair of the XEUS International Steering committee and stated that “XEUS is an X-ray observatory 30-50 times more sensitive than XMM-Newton, which will be placed 1.5 million km from Earth, beyond the Moon, at the second Lagrangian point, a quiet stable location where the instruments can observe the universe undisturbed. Because it is so large, the observatory has two spacecraft. The five-metre diameter X-ray lens is in one, and the instruments in another. The two spacecraft fly together, 35 metres apart, to keep the instruments at the focus of the lens".
XEUS has been selected for study by ESA as part of its Cosmic Vision programme. If the study outcome is successful it will be launched on Ariane 5 from Kourou in 2018. Turner commented "we have been developing the XEUS concept for an advanced X-ray observatory, for many years. This acceptance by ESA is a major step forward for X-ray astronomers all over the world." XEUS will help astronomers find out about the behaviour of matter under extreme conditions of temperature, pressure, and gravity. It will also study the influence of black holes on the formation of galaxies and stars.
Meanwhile, NASA is planning its own next-generation X-ray observatory, called Constellation-X, designed to focus on high-resolution spectroscopy. With 30 times more collecting area than Chandra and detectors about 10 times more efficient, Constellation-X would be about 100 times more sensitive for spectroscopy than XMM-Newton. The original design called for four separate spacecraft that would fly in formation, but rising launch costs recently forced a redesign to a single spacecraft.
0 comments:
Post a Comment