We propose to observe IC 2497 with XMM-Newton to detect, or rule out, anobscured AGN that might account for the illumination of .Hanny.s Voorwerp. TheVoorwerp is a highly ionised cloud of gas extended over 15-25 kpc next to thespiral galaxy IC 2497. There is no source of ionisation within the Voorwerp,implicating a luminous 1E44 erg/s AGN in IC 2497 as the source. Swift XRTobservations do not yield a detection, allowing the presence of a highlyobscured, sufficiently luminous AGN. With 34 ksec of XMM observations, we coulddetect an obscured AGN down to 1E42 erg/s. We can thus either locate an obscuredAGN, or we can for the first time constrain the shutdown time scale for apowerful AGN, as it drops by a factor of 100 in luminosity in 1E5 years.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2010-04-19T08:25:05Z/2010-04-19T22:01:19Z
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 Kevin Schawinski, 2011, 'How fast can an AGN shut downquestionMark XMM-Newton observation of IC 2497', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-spbt1ow
