| Proposal ID | 030405 |
| Title | Whats powering the jets in R Aquarii, a unique, nearby compact binary? |
| Download Data Associated to the proposal | https://nxsa.esac.esa.int/nxsa-sl/servlet/data-action-aio?obsno=0304050101 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-6ahb6e4 |
| Principal Investigator, PI | Dr Edwin Kellogg |
| Abstract | R Aqr: a white dwarf and a Mira red giant is ejecting jets in optical, radio andx-rays. The 35 arc sec x-ray jets appear to be evolving towards thermalequilibrium, based on Chandra data over 3.3 y. Peaks are seen at about theenergies of C V, C VI, N VII & O VII: evolved material from the WD or from theMira, but if so, wheres the Si? Are photons, fast particles, or bulk motion --a shock -- exciting these jets? A hard, variable point source at the centralbinary is enigmatic -- Fe K alpha 6.4 keV (reflection? What excites it?) plusemission over several keV above and below 6.4 (lines, or even a dopplercontinuum?). EPIC can provide enough detected photons in a reasonable observingtime to illuminate these questions, and RGS can identify the lines. |
| Publications |
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| Instrument | EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2 |
| Temporal Coverage | 2005-06-30T07:21:20Z/2005-07-01T03:30:00Z |
| Version | 21.51_20241115_1113 |
| 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. |
| Creator Contact | https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/xmm-newton-helpdesk |
| Date Published | 2006-11-15T00:00:00Z |
| Last Update | 2026-07-09 |
| Keywords | "evolved material", "bulk motion", "kev reflection", "white dwarf", "enigmatic fe", "chandra data", "mira red giant", "plus emission", "EPIC", "doppler continuum ?.", "fast particles", "central binary", "shock exciting" |
| Publisher And Registrant | European Space Agency |
| Credit Guidelines | European Space Agency, Dr Edwin Kellogg, 2006, 'What's powering the jets in R Aquarii, a unique, nearby compact binary?', 21.51_20241115_1113, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-6ahb6e4 |
| Rights | Data hosted in the ESA Space Science Archives are distributed under the CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO license. |