Welcome to the XMM-Newton Science Operations Centre

 

The European Space Agency's (ESA) X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) was launched by an Ariane 504 on December 10th 1999. XMM-Newton is ESA's 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 Earth's 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.

Read more about the spacecraft, mirrors and instruments and about the XMM-Newton SOC.

News and Highlights

AO-26 Opening 19-Aug-2026

XMM-Newton Announcement of Opportunity (AO-26)

Letter of Invitation by the ESA Director of Science

Dear Colleague,

I am pleased to invite you to respond to the 26th “Announcement of Opportunity" to submit proposals for observations to be performed with the XMM-Newton observatory.

This Announcement solicits proposals to be carried out between May 2027 and April 2028. Proposers from institutes located worldwide are welcome to participate. All proposals will be subject to peer review by the XMM-Newton Observing Time Allocation Committee.

The detailed schedule of milestones of the announcement, the required software tools and the documentation are available from:

     https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/ao26

I would appreciate it if you would distribute this invitation to interested colleagues.

I wish you every success in using the XMM-Newton observatory.

Yours sincerely,
Professor Carole Mundell
Director of Science

Key milestones for this announcement

Announcement of Opportunity 19 August 2026
Due date for Proposals 09 October 2026 (12:00 UT)
Final OTAC approved program mid December 2026

 

Timeline for Phase II proposal submission

After the cycle of proposal submission and selection, the observation details for successful proposals must be entered into the observatory system. This is done during "Phase II" proposal submission.

Find below for your information the anticipated timeline for that eventual Phase II:

Start of Phase II proposal submission 12 January 2027
Closure of Phase II proposal submission 29 January 2027

 

Further details on the XMM-Newton SOC web portal.

Supernova remnant W50 17-August-2026
Featured Image: The Microquasar and the Manatee
The supernova remnant W50 harbors an extreme system at its heart. Near the center of the remnant, the microquasar SS 433 exhibits an immense pair of relativistic jets, likely powered by a stellar-mass black hole accreting material from a companion star. Investigators used NuSTAR and XMM-Newton to understand the source of the X-ray emission in that region and the potential for SS 433 to accelerate particles to relativistic velocities.
Read the full story in AAS Nova web portal.

PHL 1811 12-August-2026
Famous oddball quasar isn't X-ray weak after all, astronomers say
For more than two decades, the quasar PHL 1811 has been considered the prototype of a rare class of "intrinsically X-ray weak" quasars, thought to produce unusually little X-ray radiation. But in 2024, the Einstein Probe spacecraft caught the object in a bright X-ray flare. In a new study, astronomers combined that observation with more than 20 years of archival data, including XMM-Newton data, to revisit the mystery.
Read the full story in Phys.org web portal.

XMM-Newton recovers autonomously after reaction wheel bit flip 07-August-2026
"I got this" – XMM-Newton recovers autonomously and avoids lengthy recovery
A single particle from space, likely a cosmic ray or solar wind particle, put XMM-Newton's resilience to the test on 1 August 2026 at 09:21, triggering a "bit flip" that caused reaction wheel number 4 to power off unexpectedly.
Within seconds of the wheel powering off, XMM-Newton recovered autonomously without consuming any fuel thanks to a new onboard software capability introduced in February 2025.
Read the full story here in our XMM-Newton SOC web portal.

First Edition of the GOF-SOC Bulletin 31-July-2026
First edition of the GOF-SOC Bulletin
Welcome to the first joint XMM-Newton General Observer Facility (GOF) and Science Operations Centre (SOC) bulletin. This initiative is designed to keep you regularly informed on observing proposals, software, and science updates. Bulletins will be released on a quarterly basis, so stay on the lookout for future releases.
Highlights from this issue include: the AO-26 Call for Proposals, the release of the 5XMM-DR15 catalogue, The X-ray Universe 2026 conference, the extension of mission operations, recent science successes, new NASA disclosure form requirements, and an opportunity to share your science with us.
Read the full bulletin (PDF) on the HEASARC web portal.

The X-ray Universe 2026 conference in Elche, Spain 30-July-2026
The X-ray Universe 2026 conference held in Elche, Spain
The X-ray Universe 2026 conference, the 7th in the series, organized by the XMM-Newton Project, was successful and took place on 8–11 June in Elche, Spain. In total 286 people registered, of which 16 were online registrations. Distribution among countries: 189 from ESA Member States (largest Italy, Germany), 39 from the US and 58 elsewhere. This conference encompassed a broad range of high-energy astrophysics topics, from Solar system studies to cosmology, and provided a showcase for results and discoveries from XMM-Newton as well as from the variety of other current missions. The scientific potential of future mission projects and the evolution of the scientific analysis landscape were further topics. The conference featured 14 invited, 13 solicited and 4 plenary talks (all during the morning Plenary Session), 197 contributed talks spread over 4 Parallel Sessions per day, and 72 poster presentations.
Conference group photo: full resolution image.
Further details on the The X-ray Universe 2026 conference web page.

News Archive