Recent News

For recent XMM-Newton News please visit the European Space Agency news link: ESA.



XMM-Newton Satellite

XMM-Newton scores 1000 top-class science results

XMM-Newton scores 1000 top-class science results

Wednesday, January 25 2006 - XMM-Newton, ESA's X-ray observatory, continues its quest for the unknown. This month, after five years of operations, the mission saw the publication of its 1000th scientific paper, corresponding to an equivalent number of results, in top-class scientific journals. This is not the only record-breaking figure for this X-ray 'hunter' mission.

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xmm-newton uv image of supernova in M100

XMM-Newton UV image of supernova in spiral galaxy M100

This Supernova Just Won't Fade Away

July 25, 2005 - Scientists have found that a star that exploded in 1979 is as bright today in X-ray light as it was when it was discovered years ago, a surprise finding because such objects usually fade significantly after only a few months.

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Comet Temple 1

Comet Temple 1

First XMM-Newton images of impact

July 4, 2005 - Images of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 taken by the Optical Monitor on ESA's XMM-Newton observatory, from two minutes before impact and until seven minutes after impact.

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phase variation of the x-ray emissions from PSR 1055-52
The phase variation of the X-ray emissions detected from PSR 1055-52

Hot spots on neutron stars

April 22, 2005 - Hot spots on neutron stars:
Phase variation in the X-ray emissions from three pulsars has been examined using the EPIC instrument on XMM-Newton. In a paper published this week in the Astrophysical Journal scientists reveal that analysis of spectra over the pulsar rotation period has enabled them to track hot spots on the surface of the neutron star.

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solar flare of 2 April 2001 from the EIT on SOHO
The solar flare of 2 April 2001 observed by the EIT on SOHO

Jupiter: A cloudy mirror for the Sun?

March 7, 2005 - Astronomers using the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton telescope have discovered that observing the giant planet Jupiter may actually give them an insight in to solar activity on the far side of the Sun! In research reported in the most recent edition of Geophysical Research Letters, they discovered that Jupiter's x-ray glow is due to x-rays from the Sun being reflected back off the planet's atmosphere.

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XMM-Newton observation of the nearby galaxy NGC 7314
The XMM-Newton observation of the nearby galaxy NGC 7314 (bright object at center) from which the distant cluster XMMU J2235.3-2557 was serendipitously identified (white box).

Distant Galaxies Show a Young Universe

March 2, 2005 - Using ESA's X-ray observatory XMM-Newton and the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope, scientists have discovered the most distant massive structure in the Universe. The data reveal a cluster of hundreds of galaxies already in place when the Universe was only a third of its present age. This discovery suggests that the Universe's hierarchal structure of stars, galaxies and clusters formed quickly after the big bang, much earlier than astronomers thought.

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close up comparison of the protostar in X-ray and infrared light
Figure 4: A close up comparison of the protostar in X-ray and infrared light.
Credit: ESA/XMM/Hamaguchi et al.

Newly Seen Force May Help Gravity in Star Formation

March 1, 2005 - Scientists have pierced through a dusty stellar nursery to capture the earliest and most detailed view of a collapsing gas cloud turning into a star, analogous to a baby's first ultrasound.

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artist's concept of the relativistic flow of matter around a fast rotating black hole in the center on an accretion disk
Figure 1: Artist's concept of the relativistic flow of matter around a fast rotating black hole in the center on an accretion disk (orange). Copyright: MPE

Black Holes in a radar trap

February 23, 2005 - Using the X-ray Satellite XMM-Newton researchers measure velocities near the speed of light in the vicinity of cosmic mass monsters.

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An artist's concept of XMM-Newton

An artist's concept of XMM-Newton

Science News Release 1-2005

January 10, 2005 - Scientists have observed three separate clumps of hot iron gas orbiting around a black hole at 30 000 kilometers per second, about a tenth of the speed of light.

 

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XMM-Newton has had a successful five years.

December 10, 2004 Read More >>



Geminga

4 panel picture of galactic halo

Dazzling Halos Illuminate Our Dusty Galaxy

January 26, 2004 - The discovery of a unique phenomenon: a beautiful set of expanding X-ray halos surrounding a gamma-ray burst which have never been seen before, has been announced by an international team of astronomers led by Dr Simon Vaughan of the University of Leicester. The research has been accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal.

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