QR And is the brightest binary supersoft X-ray source visible in the whole sky.Despite intense optical/UV follow-up observations, its nature is still largelyuncertain. With XMM we will for the first time be able to continuously monitorthe soft X-ray flux over a complete binary orbital cycle of 15.85 hr. The EPICpn and MOS will be used to firmly derive the orbital light curve of this uniqueobject and, therewith, to provide information about the orbital inclination, the suggested existence of an accretion disk rim, and the origin of short-termfluctuations. In addition, we will obtain high-quality phase-averaged spectrawith the EPIC pn, EPIC MOS, and RGS providing diagnostical information on the
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2001-12-31T17:10:12Z/2002-01-01T10:39:02Z
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 Klaus Reinsch, 2003, 'The orbital light curve of the galactic supersoft X-ray source QR And', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-t1ohpqx
