| Proposal ID | 055460 |
| Title | Long-term monitoring of SGR 1806-20: the start of a new cycle? |
| Download Data Associated to the proposal | https://nxsa.esac.esa.int/nxsa-sl/servlet/data-action-aio?obsno=0554600301 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-7byn3br |
| Principal Investigator, PI | Dr Sandro Mereghetti |
| Abstract | In late 2003 SGR1806-20 gradually entered an active phase displaying an increasein both the burst rate and persistent emission, and culminating on December 2004with the most powerful giant flare ever observed from a soft gamma-ray repeater.The event was followed by a gradual recovery of a flux level close to thepre-flare values. The latest XMM-Newton observation (September 2006) showed thatthe decreasing luminosity trend has been interrupted, possibly in connectionwith the recent onset of a new period of intense bursting activity. Presently itis not clear if the re-brightening is an oscillation around an equilibriumluminosity level, or the start of a new cycle of increasing activity. |
| Publications |
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| Instrument | EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2 |
| Temporal Coverage | 2008-09-05T02:09:15Z/2009-03-04T02:54:15Z |
| 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 | 2009-03-26T00:00:00Z |
| Last Update | 2026-07-09 |
| Keywords | "XMM-Newton", "powerful giant flare", "cycle ?.", "persistent emission", "sgr 1806", "XMM", "burst rate", "pre flare values", "flux level close", "gradual recovery", "late 2003 sgr1806", "intense bursting activity", "luminosity trend", "gradually entered", "equilibrium luminosity level", "re brightening", "active phase displaying", "september 2006", "xmm newton" |
| Publisher And Registrant | European Space Agency |
| Credit Guidelines | European Space Agency, Dr Sandro Mereghetti, 2009, 'Long-term monitoring of SGR 1806-20: the start of a new cycle?', 21.51_20241115_1113, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-7byn3br |
| Rights | Data hosted in the ESA Space Science Archives are distributed under the CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO license. |