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

8-May-2026
XMM-Newton Archive Reprocessing Update
The entire set of XMM‑Newton archival data has recently been fully reprocessed as part of the preparation of a major update of the Serendipitous Source Catalogue. We are currently ingesting the newly reprocessed Pipeline Processing System (PPS) data into the XMM-Newton Science Archive (XSA), revolution by revolution.

During this ongoing ingestion phase, datasets processed with different PPS versions will temporarily coexist. The PPS Version column has been highlighted in XSA to allow users to easily identify which version has been applied to each observation. The PPS version associated with the new reprocessed data is v21.51.

Please be aware that, during this transitional period, PPS detected sources and the XMM-Newton Serendipitous Source Catalogue 4XMM‑DR14 and the catalogue of serendipitous sources from overlapping XMM-Newton observations 4XMM-DR14s catalogues sources may be temporarily misaligned. This situation will be fully resolved once the ingestion of the bulk reprocessing data is completed and 5XMM-DR15 is also ingested.

We appreciate your understanding while this process is underway and will keep users informed of any relevant updates.
Further details on XSA web portal.

12-April-2026
Space telescopes track nearby quasar's dramatic X-ray state transition
Using multi-epoch data from XMM-Newton, Swift, ROSAT and Einstein Probe, astronomers studied the nearby radio-quiet quasar SDSS J0005+2007 and found a dramatic transition from an X-ray-normal to an X-ray-weak state. Over roughly five years, its 0.2–10 keV flux drops by more than an order of magnitude, while ultraviolet variability is mild and optical and infrared emission remain largely stable. The results favor an absorption-driven scenario in which clumpy, largely dust-free inner gas modulates the observed X-ray output.
Further details on Phys.org web portal.

25-March-2026
NASA X-ray mission gets fresh look at 2,000-year-old supernova
NASA's IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) has observed the supernova remnant RCW 86, combining its polarimetry with legacy X-ray data from Chandra and ESA's XMM-Newton to refine the picture of this roughly 2,000-year-old blast wave. Earlier Chandra work showed a large low-density cavity that let the remnant expand faster than expected; IXPE now targets the outer rim where expansion may have stalled at the cavity edge, highlighting reflected-shock structure. In the composite image, yellow marks lower-energy X-rays and blue higher-energy emission from Chandra and XMM-Newton, alongside IXPE's view of the rim.
Further details on Phys.org web portal.

24-March-2026
Chandra resolves why black holes hit the brakes on growth
About ten billion years ago, during a period astronomers call cosmic noon, supermassive black hole growth peaked; since then their accretion has slowed dramatically. A team led by Penn State combined Chandra, XMM-Newton and eROSITA surveys covering about 1.3 million galaxies and roughly 8,000 actively growing black holes, using Chandra for the deepest fields and XMM-Newton and eROSITA for wider, tiered coverage to build a full picture across cosmic time. The study concludes that black holes are consuming material less efficiently as the universe ages—chiefly because less cold gas is available to feed them—and expects that trend to continue.
Further details on Phys.org web portal.

10-January-2026
X-ray spectra provide sharpest image to date of a rapidly spinning black hole
High-resolution spectra from XRISM combined with XMM-Newton and NuSTAR have isolated broad iron emission and reflection features near the supermassive black hole in MCG–6-30-15, providing the sharpest X-ray view yet of matter orbiting close to the event horizon and revealing multiple wind zones.
Further details on Phys.org web portal.

12-December-2025
XMM-Newton sees comet 3I/ATLAS in X-ray light
XMM-Newton's EPIC-pn camera observed interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS for ~20 hours, revealing a bright low-energy X-ray glow created as gas from the comet collides with the solar wind—highlighting hard-to-detect gases like H₂ and N₂. The observation offers a rare X-ray look at an interstellar visitor, complementing other telescopes to probe its composition. A video about this discovery, "NEW OBSERVATION! 3I/ATLAS Emits X-Rays as It Passes Through Our Solar System" by NASA Space News, is available on YouTube.
Further details on ESA.int web portal.

News Archive