Our Chandra observation of the middle-aged PSR J1509--5850 has revealed aremarkably long, more than 6., trail of X-ray emission behind the pulsar. At adistance of 3 kpc the physical size of this structure exceeds 5 pc, thus beingthe longest pulsar trail ever seen. Studying this trail provides a uniqueopportunity to better understand the properties of relativistic pulsar winds andtheir interaction with the ambient medium. In particular, mapping the surfacebrightness distribution within the trail and measuring its spatially resolvedspectrum will allow us to directly test models of shocked magnetized winds fromfast moving pulsars.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2008-01-28T06:46:15Z/2008-03-02T11:06:57Z
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 Oleg Kargaltsev, 2009, 'Studying the longest pulsar trail', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-bww49zk
