The Gaia Gravitational Lenses working group (GraL) has dramatically increasedthe number of known lenses in the past three years, particularly doubly-imagedquasars. X-ray observations of these rare systems provide a powerful tool for arange of studies, from inferring the structure near the event horizons ofsupermassive black holes to measuring black hole spins at cosmologicaldistances. We propose a snapshot survey of the brightest newly identifieddoubles to establish a baseline sample for deeper observations and monitoring.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2022-09-29T21:04:39Z/2022-09-30T01:51:19Z
Version
20.08_20220509_1852
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 Thomas Connor, 2023, 'The XMM/Gaia Gravitationally Lensed Quasar Survey', 20.08_20220509_1852, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.57780/esa-uxyek5h
