Observations of NGC 5846 and NGC 4649, two X-ray-bright elliptical galaxies withextended emission line filaments and dust, will be used to study the interactionbetween the hot, X-ray emitting gas and cooler interstellar material. We willdetermine whether heat conduction into the cooler gas or energy losses to grainsaffect the thermal state of the gas. The elemental abundances and gradients inthe hot gas will be derived and compared to the stellar values. If the gasresults from local stellar mass loss, the abundances should be similar. If thereis a cooling flow, the abundances at each radius should reflect those of starsat larger radii. The RGS will be used to disperse the central regions of thegalaxies and to detect or limit low ionization X-ray lines from cooling gas.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2001-01-02T13:03:39Z/2001-08-27T03:33:06Z
Version
PPS_NOT_AVAILABLE
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 Craig Sarazin, 2005, 'Stellar Mass Loss Versus External Accretion in X-ray Bright Ellipticals', PPS_NOT_AVAILABLE, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-r1cmpjb
