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| Are most pulsars really magnetars in disguise? |
| Astronomers using XMM-Newton and other world-class X-ray telescopes have probed a curious source, which emits flares and bursts just like a magnetar but lacks the extremely high external magnetic field typical of these objects. The detection of this source, which could be powered by a strong, internal magnetic field hidden to observations, may mean that many 'ordinary' pulsars are dormant magnetars waiting to erupt. |
| Date: 14 Oct 2010 |
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| Planck's first glimpse at galaxy clusters and a new supercluster |
| Surveying the microwave sky, Planck has obtained its very first images of galaxy clusters, amongst the largest objects in the Universe, by means of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect, a characteristic signature they imprint on the Cosmic Microwave Background. Joining forces in a fruitful collaboration between ESA missions, XMM-Newton followed up Planck's detections and revealed that one of them is a previously unknown supercluster of galaxies. |
| Date: 15 Sep 2010 |
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| XMM-Newton Announcement of Opportunity (AO10) |
| Proposals are solicited for observations with XMM-Newton in response to the Tenth Announcement of Opportunity, AO-10, issued 24 August 2010. This AO covers the period May 2011 to April 2012 and is open to all proposers. |
| Date: 24 Aug 2010 |
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| XMM-Newton line detection provides new tool to probe extreme gravity |
| A long-sought-after emission line of oxygen, carrying the imprint of strong gravitational fields, has been discovered in the XMM-Newton spectrum of an exotic binary system composed of two stellar remnants, a neutron star and a white dwarf. Astronomers can use this line to probe extreme gravity effects in the region close to the surface of a neutron star. |
| Date: 21 Jun 2010 |
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| Novel observing mode on XMM-Newton opens new perspectives on galaxy clusters |
| Surveying the sky, XMM-Newton has discovered two massive galaxy clusters, confirming a previous detection obtained through observations of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect, the 'shadow' they cast on the Cosmic Microwave Background. The discovery, made possible thanks to a novel mosaic observing mode recently introduced on ESA's X-ray observatory, opens a new window to study the Universe's largest bound structures in a multi-wavelength approach. |
| Date: 31 May 2010 |
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| X-ray discovery points to location of missing matter |
| Using observations with ESA's XMM-Newton and NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have announced a robust detection of a vast
reservoir of intergalactic gas about 400 million light years from Earth. This discovery is the strongest evidence yet that the 'missing matter' in the nearby Universe is located in an enormous web of hot, diffuse gas. |
| Date: 11 May 2010 |
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| XMM-Newton releases new edition of cosmic catalogue |
| One of the teams behind ESA's XMM-Newton X-ray mission has unveiled the latest edition of their 2XMM catalogue. The newest incarnation boasts an additional 42 000 entries, ratcheting up the total to over a quarter of a million X-ray sources. This unprecedented cosmic X-ray library is a valuable resource allowing astronomers to explore the extreme Universe. |
| Date: 28 Apr 2010 |
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| XMM-Newton traces dark matter in faint, distant galaxy groups |
| Observations of faint and distant galaxy groups made with the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton observatory have been used to probe the evolution of dark matter. The results of the study are reported in the 20 January issue of The Astrophysical Journal. |
| Date: 20 Jan 2010 |
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| XMM-Newton celebrates a golden decade of X-ray astrophysics |
| On 10 December 1999 Ariane 504 blasted off from Kourou in French Guiana carrying onboard the European Space Agency's flagship X-ray observatory, XMM-Newton. In the intervening decade this astronomical workhorse has played a significant role in revolutionizing the field of X-astronomy.
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| Date: 10 Dec 2009 |
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| Mission extensions approved for science missions |
| ESA's Science Programme Committee has approved the extension of mission operations for XMM-Newton, INTEGRAL, Venus Express, Mars Express and Cluster, as well as the ESA support to the operations of HST and SOHO, until 31 December 2012. An additional year of operations has been approved for Planck. |
| Date: 07 Oct 2009 |
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| XMM-Newton weighs up a rare white dwarf and finds it to be a heavyweight |
| XMM-Newton observations of the X-ray pulsator RX J0648.0-4418, timed to also cover the phase when the source was expected to be eclipsed by its companion, have resulted in a solid, model-independent mass estimation of this object. It appears to be a rare, ultra-massive white dwarf, whose continued study promises to provide sensitive tests for stellar evolution theories. Sandro Mereghetti and colleagues present these results in the 4 September issue of Science.
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| Date: 04 Sep 2009 |
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| XMM-Newton Announcement of Opportunity (AO9) |
Proposals are solicited for observations with XMM-Newton in response to the Ninth Announcement of Opportunity, AO-9, issued 25 August 2009. This AO covers the period May 2010 to April 2011 and is open to all proposers.
The deadline for receipt of proposals for this AO has passed.
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| Date: 27 Aug 2009 |
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| At last! After 10 years a new Soft Gamma Repeater is observed |
| Detailed observations of the first new Soft Gamma Repeater in 10 years strengthen the unified view of the magnetar phenomenon; the INTEGRAL and XMM-Newton target of opportunity programmes played a fundamental role in obtaining these successful observations of SGR 0501+4516. This is reported by Nanda Rea and colleagues in an article in the MNRAS published online on 15 June 2009. |
| Date: 16 Jun 2009 |
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| XMM-Newton probes the inner mechanisms of Active Galactic Nuclei |
| Spectral analysis of XMM-Newton observations of 1H0707-495 (a narrow line Seyfert 1 galaxy) has for the first time revealed the presence of broad K and L iron lines. The simultaneous detection reveals hitherto unobserved details of the geometry and dynamics of the supermassive black hole at the centre of this galaxy. This is reported by Fabian et al in the 28 May 2009 issue of Nature. |
| Date: 27 May 2009 |
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| 2000 publications: another milestone for XMM-Newton |
| The XMM-Newton mission passes another milestone this month with the publication of its 2000th scientific paper in peer-reviewed scientific journals. This is another indication that the mission continues to be one of the world's foremost astronomical observatories. |
| Date: 17 Feb 2009 |
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| New model promises to unify view of magnetars |
| A recent model of the emission from ultra-magnetized neutron stars (magnetars) shows great promise in offering a unified view of the high energy emission from these objects. This is reported by Nanda Rea and colleagues in a recent issue of the Astrophysical Journal. The results are based on the systematic analysis of data collected with XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL. |
| Date: 14 Nov 2008 |
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| Radio contact re-established with XMM-Newton |
| XMM-Newton, ESA's X-ray observatory, has re-established communication contact with Earth, showing that the spacecraft is safe and fully under control. The news was confirmed this morning by the mission control team at ESA's European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany. |
| Date: 23 Oct 2008 |
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| Re-establishing contact with XMM-Newton |
| During last weekend ESA lost contact with its XMM-Newton X-ray observatory. Many space agencies and organisations are now joining forces trying to fix the problem: a feeble radio signal has been heard, and ground-based observations confirm that the spacecraft is intact. |
| Date: 22 Oct 2008 |
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| XMM-Newton detection of QPO in RE J1034+396 important for theoretical understanding of AGN |
| The first detection of strong, quasi-periodic oscillations (QPO) in the X-ray emission of an active galaxy (RE J1034+396) has been reported by a team of scientists from the University of Durham. Their result, obtained using data collected with XMM-Newton, appears in this week's issue of Nature. |
| Date: 17 Sep 2008 |
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| XMM-Newton Announcement of Opportunity (AO8) |
Proposals are solicited for observations with XMM-Newton in response to the Eighth Announcement of Opportunity, AO-8, issued today. This AO covers the period May 2009 to April 2010 and is open to all proposers.
The deadline for receipt of proposals has passed. |
| Date: 26 Aug 2008 |
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