The Magellanic Clouds harbour a large sample of Be/X-ray binaries at a moderateand well known distance with low Galactic foreground absorption. However, thetransient nature of Be/X-ray binaries complicates observations in X-rays.Serendipitous detections of bright outbursts provide rare chances for furtherinvestigation. We propose three triggered XMM-Newton observations of new orunexplored systems to continue the buildup of a large statistical sample ofthese sources.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2015-11-07T15:00:36Z/2015-11-07T21:57:16Z
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 Richard Sturm, 2016, 'Inverstigating hard X-ray transients in the Magellanic Clouds', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-rqwarg4
