We propose 100 ks of XMM observation to complete the survey of the diffuse X-rayemission towards the Galactic west and capture the echo of Sgr A*.s pastoutbursts before they leave the central molecular zone (CMZ). This observationof the distant molecular cloud Sgr E, with XMM.s large effective area, isrequired to probe putative old outbursts from Sgr A*. It will allow us tocomplete our global study of the Galactic center X-ray diffuse emission, whichconcludes that multiple short events happening few hundred years ago arecurrently propagating through the Galaxy.s CMZ. By applying the spectraltechnique we have recently developped to the data of this Sgr E observation, wewill extend our reconstruction of the past activity of Sgr A* to epochs beyond 300 yr ago.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2019-03-07T03:52:45Z/2019-03-08T11:49:25Z
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, Mr Dimitri CHUARD, 2020, 'Sgr E: a distant witness of Sgr A*.s past activity', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-8osobju
