We propose a moderately long (80 ksec) observation of IC 2560, a Seyfert 2galaxy with a luminous water megamaser that shows many similarities to thearchtypical megamaser NGC 4258. IC 2560 is likely to be a key object for ourunderstanding of accretion disks around supermassive black holes. A briefChandra observation showed that the X-ray source is hidden behind Compton-thickobscuration, with an extremely strong (EW = 3.6 keV) Fe K alpha line. Ourobservation will collect approximately 10,000 source photons, allowing us toobtain a high-quality spectrum of the central source, which will be used todetermine the source parameters, search for a Compton shoulder on the Fe K alphaline, and obtain a vastly improved spectrum of the soft X-ray emission.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2003-12-26T03:34:29Z/2003-12-27T02:19:37Z
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 PHILIP MALONEY, 2005, 'X-RAY OBSERVATION OF THE WATER MEGAMASER GALAXY IC 2560', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-meg44b4
