In a survey of the Galactic plane performed in 2004 with the H.E.S.S. instrumenta new class of so far unidentified very high energy gamma-ray sources wasdiscovered. We propose to use XMM-Newton to perform follow-up observation on aset of three of the newly discovered sources, for which searches in existingmulti-waveband data have not revealed any counterparts. The sensitivity ofXMM-Newton would be required to identify possible X-ray counterparts of the VHEgamma-ray sources, despite the obscuration by gas in the Galactic plane. Thiswould allow to obtain morphological and spectral information of possiblecounterparts and will help to understand the physical nature of the emissionmechanisms in this new class of .dark. astrophysical sources
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2006-08-25T20:24:45Z/2006-09-19T07:49:37Z
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 Stefan Funk, 2008, 'Investigation of X-ray properties of H.E.S.S. Galactic unidentified sources', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-hsze5ft
