The North Polar Spur (NPS) is a region of strong diffuse X-ray emission that isgenerally thought to be the edge of the Loop I superbubble, at a distance ofvirgul150pc. However, it may also be the limb of a supershell at the Galactic center.The implications for the plasma, energy, and dynamics involved are extreme. Wewill determine the location of the NPS using a series of overlappingobservations of the southern terminus of the NPS. Comparison with the Galacticdistribution of X-ray absorbing material will allow us to constrain the distanceto the X-ray emission. This proposal requests the reobservation of threepointings from our accepted AO-13 large project which were contaminated by softprotons beyond usage.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2015-09-14T03:43:24Z/2015-10-10T20:57:12Z
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 K.D. Kuntz, 2016, 'Where in the Milky Way is the North Polar Spur', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-3p1d6oe
