Although contamination monitoring was introduced and vigorously pursued afterthe RGS and MOS were cooled in 2002 November, it is important to establish along-term contamination monitor. The star zeta Puppis is an ideal target becauseof the exceptional strength of its NVI and NVII lines at about 25 and 30Arespectively. So far, XMM has not been able to detect any variability in thisstar above the few percent level. It is visible for 2 months every 6 months andfor this long-term programme, I propose a longer observation time than usedduring the immediate post-cooling period, prefering instead the 60ks used forthe PV phase.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2003-05-30T09:29:28Z/2013-10-23T07:24:34Z
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, Mr Fred Jansen XMM-Newton PM, 2009, 'RGS long-term long-wavelength contamination monitor', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-pw8lzwd
