While the typical cartoon picture of an SNR depicts an expanding shell of swept-up material and ejecta surrounding a rapidly spinning pulsar which powers a synchrotron nebula (plerion), the truth is that only about a dozen PSR/SNR associations are known. Nearly an equal number of SNRs show direct evidence for a pulsar in the form of a plerion being powered by such a central source. G327.1-1.1 and CTA 1 are two such SNRs for which emission from the shell as well as the plerion are observed, and the only two composite SNRs for which still unidentified compact sources which may be powering the plerions have been revealed. We propose XMM observations of these two SNRs in order to study the thermal and nonthermal emission as well as the properties of the
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2002-02-21T18:56:32Z/2002-02-22T06:29:46Z
Version
17.56_20190403_1200
Mission Description
The European Space Agencys (ESA) X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) was launched by an Ariane 504 on December 10th 1999. XMM-Newton is ESAs second cornerstone of the Horizon 2000 Science Programme. It carries 3 high throughput X-ray telescopes with an unprecedented effective area, and an optical monitor, the first flown on a X-ray observatory. The large collecting area and ability to make long uninterrupted exposures provide highly sensitive observations. Since Earths atmosphere blocks out all X-rays, only a telescope in space can detect and study celestial X-ray sources. The XMM-Newton mission is helping scientists to solve a number of cosmic mysteries, ranging from the enigmatic black holes to the origins of the Universe itself. Observing time on XMM-Newton is being made available to the scientific community, applying for observational periods on a competitive basis.
European Space Agency, Dr Patrick Slane, 2003, 'Probing for Pulsars: An XMM Study of the Composite SNRs G327.1-1.1 and CTA1', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-zoyg0bu
