V838 Mon is perhaps the most enigmatic and unusual object observed in stellarastrophysics in recent decades. The star underwent an enormous outburst in 2002,resulting in a spectacular system of light echoes whose evolution has been welldocumented by HST. The cause of the outburst remains the subject of vigorousdebate. One possibility is that of a stellar merger. A prediction of this modelis that the envelope of the merger remnant should be magnetically active. If so,V838 Mon should be a luminous X-ray source. We propose a 100 ks XMM/EPICobservation that will constrain the merger model for the V838 Mon outburst andwill help characterize the young cluster in which V838 Mon resides.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2008-03-17T13:30:38Z/2008-03-19T03:02:46Z
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, Prof Joel Kastner, 2009, 'V838 Mon: A Search for X-rays from a Possible Stellar Merger', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-wv3zgd2
