XMM-Newton Latest News

 

For older news stories regarding XMM-Newton please visit the News Archive

X-ray serendipity 08-Jul-2019:
X-ray serendipity
The purple lines and blotches scattered across this image show something incredible: all of the X-ray sources that were serendipitously detected - that is, not intentionally targeted - by ESA's XMM-Newton X-ray space observatory from 2000 to 2017.
Further details on ESAS's Space in Images portal.

Galaxy Clusters 24-Jun-2019:
X-rays reveal how cosmic giants meet
Scientists have uncovered an extremely powerful shock wave in a distant part of the Universe where two massive galaxy clusters appear to come into first contact ahead of merging. The study is based on data from several astronomical facilities, including ESA's XMM-Newton X-ray space observatory.
Further details on ESAS's Science & Technology portal.

Teacup Quasar 06-May-2019:
Storm in the Teacup quasar
This image shows a quasar nicknamed the Teacup due to its shape. The Teacup is 1.1 billion light years away and was thought to be a dying quasar until recent X-ray observations with ESA's XMM-Newton telescope and NASA's Chandra X-ray observatory shed new light on it.
Further details on ESAS's Space in Images portal.

Stargazing Technology to spot cancer 08-Apr-2019:
Stargazing technology used to spot cancer
Cancer could be detected in patients far earlier by using the same technology used to observe stars millions of miles away, such as ion thrusters and X-ray optics similar to those deployed in ESA's XMM-Newton spacecraft.
Further details on GOV.UK pages.

Galactic chimneys and bubbles 20-Mar-2019:
Giant 'chimneys' vent X-rays from Milky Way's core
By surveying the centre of our Galaxy, ESA's XMM-Newton has discovered two colossal 'chimneys' funneling material from the vicinity of the Milky Way's supermassive black hole into two huge cosmic bubbles.
Further details on ESA's Space Science portal.

Quasar 18-Mar-2019:
'Teacup' Quasar Causes Galactic Storms
SDSS J143029.88+133912.0, nicknamed the 'Teacup' because of its shape, is a quasar powered by a supermassive black hole. New data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA's XMM-Newton mission provide detailed information about the history of the eruptions of energy and particles produced by the black hole.
Further details on Sci-News pages.

NGC 300 25-Feb-2019:
Past and future generations of stars in NGC 300
This swirling palette of colours portrays the life cycle of stars in a spiral galaxy known as NGC 300. The different colours are derived from optical observations performed by MPG/ESO's Wide Field Imager (WFI) telescope at La Silla, Chile; infrared observations made with NASA's Spitzer space telescope; and data collected in X-rays by ESA's XMM-Newton space observatory.
Further details on ESA's Space in Images portal.

Measuring the Expansion of the Universe 28-Jan-2019:
Active galaxies point to new physics of cosmic expansion
Investigating the history of our cosmos with a large sample of distant ‘active’ galaxies observed by ESA’s XMM-Newton, a team of astronomers found there might be more to the early expansion of the Universe than predicted by the standard model of cosmology.
Further details on ESA's Space Science pages, The New York Times and The Great Courses Plus

Supernova 10-Jan-2019:
Team of telescopes finds X-ray engine inside mysterious supernova
ESA’s high-energy space telescopes Integral and XMM-Newton have helped to find a source of powerful X-rays at the centre of an unprecedentedly bright and rapidly evolving stellar explosion that suddenly appeared in the sky earlier this year.
Further details on ESA's Space Science portal.

Black hole devours a star 09-Jan-2019:
XMM-Newton captures final cries of star shredded by black hole
Astronomers using ESA's XMM-Newton space observatory have studied a black hole devouring a star and discovered an exceptionally bright and stable signal that allowed them to determine the black hole's spin rate.
Further details on ESA's Space Science portal.