Following NRCO18, as part of the long-term effort to monitor the RGSsensitivity and possible contamination, the star zeta Puppis is an idealtarget because of the exceptional strength of its NVI and NVII lines atabout 25 and 30A respectively. So far, XMM has not been able to detect anyvariability above the few percent level. It is visible for 2 months every 6months and for this programme, I propose a further 60ks observation with asmall pointing adjustment in order for the NVI and NVII lines to be clear ofchip gaps, as much as possible, in both RGS instruments.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2003-12-06T18:11:07Z/2003-12-07T09:21:17Z
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 PS, 2003, 'RGS long-wavelength sensitivity monitor', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-i0xb4rv
