XMM-Newton News Archive - Year 2015

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Stephan's Quintet 21-Dec-2015:
Sparkling Stephan's Quintet
The Stephan's Quintet of galaxies was discovered by astronomer Édouard Stephan in 1877. At the time, however, he reported the discovery of 'new nebulae', as the concept of other galaxies beyond our Milky Way was only formalised in the 1920s.
Further details on ESA's Space in Images pages.

Black Hole 17-Dec-2015:
NuSTAR Finds Cosmic Clumpy Doughnut Around Black Hole
The most massive black holes in the universe are often encircled by thick, doughnut-shaped disks of gas and dust. This deep-space doughnut material ultimately feeds and nourishes the growing black holes tucked inside.
Further details on NASAS's web portal.

Galaxy Clusters 15-Dec-2015:
Unravelling the Cosmic Web: Survey gives insights into Universe's structure
Today marks the release of the first papers to result from the XXL survey, the largest survey of galaxy clusters ever undertaken with ESA's XMM-Newton X-ray observatory.
Further details on ESA's Science & Technology pages.

Galaxy Clusters 15-Dec-2015:
XXL Hunt for Galaxy Clusters
ESO telescopes have provided an international team of astronomers with the gift of the third dimension in a plus-sized hunt for the largest gravitationally bound structures in the Universe — galaxy clusters. Observations by the VLT and the NTT complement those from other observatories across the globe and in space as part of the XXL survey — one of the largest ever such quests for clusters.
Further details on ESO's web portal.

Lockman Hole 14-Dec-2015:
The Lockman Hole in X-rays
A special patch of sky can be found close to the Big Dipper, in the northern constellation of Ursa Major, also known as the Great Bear. Appearing to contain no stars and hardly any gas clouds from our Milky Way galaxy, this region is called the Lockman Hole.
Further details on ESA's Space in Images pages.

Black Hole 03-Dec-2015:
A new technique to gauge the distant Universe
Scientists have developed a technique to use quasars – powerful sources driven by supermassive black holes at the centre of galaxies – to study the Universe's history and composition.
Further details on ESA's Science & Technology portal.

Galaxy Clusters 02-Dec-2015:
Cosmic filaments exposed near huge cluster
ESA's XMM-Newton X-ray observatory has revealed three massive filaments of hot gas flowing towards a cluster of galaxies, uncovering a portion of the cosmic skeleton that pervades the entire Universe.
Further details on ESA's Science & Technology portal.

Black Hole 21-Oct-2015:
Black hole caught feasting on a star
Astronomers have detected the last 'cry' from a star that passed too close to the central black hole of its host galaxy and was being destroyed and 'swallowed' - a phenomenon known as a tidal disruption event. The study, based on the observations of X-rays emitted by leftover material from the star in the vicinity of the black hole, allowed the astronomers to measure, for the first time, the physical properties of a newly formed accretion disc, enabling them to investigate the initial phases of such a powerful event.
Further details on ESA's Science & Technology portal.

RPS 25-Aug-2015:
XMM-Newton 15th Announcement of Opportunity (AO-15)
The XMM-Newton Fifteenth Announcement of Opportunity is now open and observing proposals may be submitted.
The deadline is 9 October 2015, 12:00 UT
Further details here on our XMM-Newton SOC Website.

Galactic Centre 20-Aug-2015:
The tumultuous heart of our galaxy
This new image of powerful remnants of dead stars and their mighty action on the surrounding gas from ESA's XMM-Newton X-ray observatory reveals some of the most intense processes taking place at the centre of our galaxy, the Milky Way.
Further details on ESA's Space Science portal.

Planetary Nebula 27-Jul-2015:
Born-again planetary nebula
Beneath the vivid hues of this eye-shaped cloud, named Abell 78, a tale of stellar life and death is unfolding. At the centre of the nebula, a dying star - not unlike our Sun - which shed its outer layers on its way to oblivion has, for a brief period of time, come back to echo its past glory.
Further details on ESA's Space in Images pages.

Circinius X-1 24-Jun-2015:
Circinus X-1: Astronomers Discover X-ray Rings around Neutron Star
Astronomers using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA's XMM-Newton telescope have discovered a bright X-ray light echo in the form of four well-defined rings around the neutron star at the center of an X-ray binary system called Circinus X-1. The new Chandra data have also provided a rare opportunity to determine the distance to this bizarre system.
Further details on the Sci-News web portal.

XMM-Newton self-portrait 26-May-2015:
XMM-Newton self-portraits with planet Earth
This series of images was taken 15 years ago, a couple of months after the launch of ESA's XMM-Newton space observatory. These unique views, showing parts of the spacecraft main body and solar wings, feature a guest of honour - Earth - which crosses the field of view from left to right, as the satellite slews across our planet.
Further details on ESA's Space in Images pages.

3XMM-DR5 28-Apr-2015:
A new version of the largest catalogue of X-ray detected astrophysical objects
The fifth data release of the XMM-Newton serendipitous source catalogue (3XMM-DR5), the largest catalogue of X-ray sources ever created, contains 565962 X-ray detections, ranging from nearby objects in our Solar System to supermassive black holes at the edge of the Universe.
Further details on IRAP's web portal.

Intense X-rays 20-Apr-2015:
Intense X-rays sculpt Thor's neon-hued helmet
This brightly coloured scene shows a giant cloud of glowing gas and dust known as NGC 2359. This is also dubbed the Thor's Helmet nebula, due to the arching arms of gas stemming from the central bulge and curving towards the top left and right of the frame, creating a shape reminiscent of the Norse god's winged helmet.
Further details on ESA's Space in Images pages.

Black Hole Winds 19-Feb-2015:
Widespread wind from black hole can shape star formation
Astronomers have discovered that the winds from supermassive black holes at the centre of galaxies are blasted out in all directions. This new finding was made possible by observations with ESA's XMM-Newton and NASA's NuSTAR X-ray telescopes.
Further details on ESA's Science & Technology pages.

Planerary Nebula 02-Feb-2015:
XMM-Newton and Hubble view of Jupiter's Ghost
Names of astronomical objects are often ambiguous, especially when the historical designation of a certain class of celestial body preceded their physical understanding and was based on their appearance in the sky.
Further details on ESA's Space in Images pages.

Galaxy Cluster 16-Jan-2015:
Caught in the act: collision of two galaxy clusters ends almost deadly
Recent observations of the galaxy cluster RXCJ2359.5-6042 with the XMM-Newton space observatory reveal evidence for an ongoing merger that strips the smaller system of much of its gas.
Further details on the MPE portal and on National Geographic's pages.