The X-ray luminosity of SN1987A, has been rapidly increasing over the last threeyears, such that in a single 100 ks XMM-Newton obervation spectra can be takenwith excellent counting statistics up to energies of 10 keV and more. Buildingon earlier LETG and RGS spectra an updated RGS spectrum allows to study the timeevolution of the shock conditions and abundance profiles of N, O, Fe, Ne. Athigh energies the pn is used to try to clarify the extremely low Fe abundance of0.04, observed so far. Is the Fe completely swallowed by the central compactobject or is the emission from the inner sections of the progenitor star stillabsorbed? Because of the high number of counts a sensitive search for pulsesfrom the pulsar limited to high energy photons becomes possible for the first time.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2006-12-11T13:05:31Z/2007-01-19T01:19:04Z
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 Frank Haberl, 2008, 'X-ray Spectrometry of SN1987A', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-miueta8
