The study of both early and late stages of stellar evolution benefits frominvestigations of stars orbited by dusty disks, as identified via thermalinfrared excesses above photospheric emission. Distinguishing between two verydifferent possibilities for the presence of such a disk --- star (and planet)birth vs. death --- can be surprisingly problematic in certain cases. One suchcase is RZ Psc. For decades the evolutionary status of this infrared-bright,variable (anti-flare) star has been ambiguous; both pre- and post-mainsequence models have been offered. We propose XMM observations that will supplyan important datum to break this evolutionary degeneracy.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2015-01-02T14:11:46Z/2015-01-03T01:16:46Z
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 Ben Zuckerman, 2016, 'Probing the evolutionary state of the very dusty star RZ Psc', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-hkveb3e
