Solar twins are stars that closely resemble the Sun. They are an importantcornerstone for studies of the Sun as a star and critical for putting the Sun -and our solar system - into context. However, the X-ray properties of solartwins are largely unknown so that the Sun is, rightly or not, often used asrepresentative of its siblings. Here, we propose to remedy this situation byobserving a small sample of six nearby solar twins. This will allow us to decideif the Sun.s X-ray properties are indeed representative.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2017-06-01T23:05:28Z/2017-08-27T06:37:32Z
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 Christian Schneider, 2018, 'Putting the Sun into context: An X-ray survey of Solar Twins', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-t3d75pd
