PSR J0108-1431 is a 170 Myr old, very faint radio pulsar at a distance of 240pc, among the nearest neutron stars to Earth. Thanks to its proximity, PSRJ0108-1431 offers a unique opportunity to study X-ray emission from a very old,almost dead pulsar. A short Chandra observation has shown that it is muchbrighter in X-rays than one could expect for such an old pulsar with a very lowspindown power. However, the number of detected counts was too small todefinitively characterize its spectrum, and the time resolution too low todetect pulsations. The proposed study of the X-ray spectrum and pulsations ofPSR J0108-1431 will provide first definitive results on the X-ray properties ofvery old pulsars and test the pulsar evolution models.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2011-06-15T04:26:57Z/2011-06-16T17:44:13Z
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 George Pavlov, 2012, 'X-rays from a dying pulsar', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-iemj8g0
