Planetary nebulae (PNe) consist of stellar material ejected by stars with massesless than 8-10 solar masses. The current fast stellar wind sweeps up theprevious slow wind to form the observed nebular shells, but jets and fastcollimated outflows may also be responsible for shaping PNe at earlyevolutionary stages. These dynamic interactions produce hot, shocked gas thatemits X-rays. We have selected a sample of 10 PNe evenly divided between the twomain morphological classes, elliptical and bipolar, and spanning a wide range ofevolutionary stages. We request XMM-Newton observations of these PNe in order todetermine their physical structures and to study the formation, shaping, andevolution of elliptical and bipolar PNe.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2003-12-04T21:29:50Z/2004-09-20T21:23:14Z
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 YOU-HUA CHU, 2005, 'AN X-RAY SURVEY OF HOT GAS IN PLANETARY NEBULAE', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-3kqavtz
