XMM-Newton Latest News
For older news stories regarding XMM-Newton please visit the News Archive
29-Jul-2021
Stanford astrophysicists report first detection of light from behind a black hole
Fulfilling a prediction of Einstein’s theory of general relativity, researchers report the first-ever recordings of X-ray emissions from the far side of a black hole. This work was supported by the NASA NuSTAR and XMM-Newton Guest Observer programs.
Further details on Stanford News web portal.
29-Jul-2021
XMM-Newton sees light echo from behind a black hole
For the first time, astronomers have seen light coming from behind a black hole. Using ESA’s XMM-Newton and NASA’s NuSTAR space telescopes, an international team of scientists led by Dan Wilkins of Stanford University observed extremely bright flares of X-ray light coming from around a black hole.
Further details on ESA's Science & Exploration web portal.
12-Jul-2021
The mystery of what causes Jupiter’s X-ray auroras is solved
The 40-year-old mystery of what causes Jupiter’s X-ray auroras has been solved. For the first time, astronomers have seen the entire mechanism at work – and it could be a process occurring in many other parts of the Universe too.
Further details on ESA's Science & Exploration web portal.
29-Jun-2021
Orphan cloud discovered in galaxy cluster
New observations made with ESA’s X-ray XMM Newton telescope have revealed an “orphan cloud” – an isolated cloud in a galaxy cluster that is the first discovery of its kind.A lot goes on in a galaxy cluster. There can be anything from tens to thousands of galaxies bound together by gravity.
Further details on ESA's Science & Exploration web portal.
28-Jun-2021
Matter highway in space makes galaxy clusters grow
Six months ago, astronomers at the University of Bonn reported the discovery of an extremely long intergalactic gas filament with the X-ray telescope eROSITA...To do this, the researchers combined images from several sources: the SRG/eROSITA, XMM-Newton and Chandra satellites.
Further details on Argelander-Institut für Astronomie web portal.
25-Jun-2021
The EXTraS project: Exploring the X-ray Transient and variable Sky
Everything flows. Time is a fundamental perception in our life. In this paper, De Luca and collaborators investigate the timing properties of ~400,000 X-ray sources found in the XMM-Newton database for over 10 years of observations.
Further details on Astronomy & Astrophysics web portal.
10-Jun-2021
Scientists measured the central density of a white dwarf for the first time
An international collaboration recently measured the central density of white dwarf just before exploding as a so-called Type Ia supernova. Using data obtained from the astronomical satellite XMM-Newton, they made observations of the supernova remnant 3C 397 and measured its central density.
Further details on Tech Explorist web portal.
08-Jun-2021
New X-ray map reveals growing supermassive black holes in next-gen survey fields
One of the largest X-ray surveys using the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton space observatory has mapped nearly 12,000 X-ray sources across three large, prime regions of the sky.The X-ray sources represent active galactic nuclei and galaxy clusters...
Further details on Penn State web portal.
24-May-2021
Observations shed more light on the properties of pulsar PSR J0740+6620
An international team of astronomers has carried out X-ray observations of a massive millisecond pulsar known as PSR J0740+6620...The XMM-Newton (hereafter XMM) telescope observed PSR J0740+6620 as part of a Director's Discretionary Time program...
Further details on Phys web portal.
17-May-2021
Supermassive black holes devour gas just like their petite counterparts
On Sept. 9, 2018, astronomers spotted a flash from a galaxy 860 million light years away. The source was a supermassive black hole about 50 million times the mass of the sun...The team collected data over two years, using X-ray space telescopes XMM-Newton and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory...
Further details on MIT web portal.
29-Apr-2021
eROSITA witnesses the awakening of massive black holes
Using the SRG/eROSITA all-sky survey data, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics have found two previously quiescent galaxies that now show quasi-periodic eruptions...which was confirmed by follow-up observations with the XMM-Newton.
Further details on Max Planck Institute web portal.
28-Apr-2021
Quasi-periodic dipping detected in an ultraluminous X-ray source
Astronomers have performed a timing analysis of the ultraluminous X-ray source NGC 247 ULX-1 using ESA's XMM-Newton spacecraft. The study detected quasi-periodic dipping in the X-ray light curve of this source...NGC 247 ULX-1 was observed eight times by XMM-Newton over one month.
Further details on Phys web portal.
28-Apr-2021
X-ray quasi-periodic eruptions from two previously quiescent galaxies
Quasi-periodic eruptions (QPEs) are very-high-amplitude bursts of X-ray radiation recurring every few hours and originating near the central supermassive black holes of galactic nuclei...observations triggered with the XMM-Newton X-ray telescope confirmed the remarkable bursting nature of the source.
Further details on Narure web portal.
05-Apr-2021
Unusual flaring activity observed from the ultraluminous X-ray source NGC 4559 X7
Italian astronomers have performed X-ray observations of an ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) known as NGC 4559 X7 and found that this source exhibits unusual flaring activity... analyzed all the available X-ray observations of NGC 4559 X7 taken with XMM-Newton.
Further details on Phys web portal.
30-Mar-2021
When clouds collide
Our galaxy is surrounded by numerous ‘satellite’ galaxies, the largest being the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC)...Researchers have now used ESA’s XMM-Newton X-ray observatory to explore the emission streaming from the X-ray spur at multiple wavelengths.
Further details on ESAS's Science & Exploration web portal.
15-Jan-2021
Physicists May Have Found Dark Matter: X-rays Surrounding “Magnificent 7” May Be Traces of Theorized Particle
Researchers say they may have found proof of theorized axions, and possibly dark matter, around a group of neutron stars...from two space satellites: the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton and NASA’s Chandra X-ray telescopes.
Further details on SciTechDaily web portal.
11-Jan-2021
Cosmic neon lights
This image shows a new type of star that has never been seen before in X-ray light.A team of astronomers led by Lidia Oskinova...used ESA’s XMM-Newton X-ray telescope to study the object that was originally discovered in 2019.
Further details on ESAS's Science & Exploration web portal.
06-Jan-2021
Supergiant eclipsing binary IGR J18027–2016 investigated in detail
Using data from ESA's XMM-Newton and NASA's Swift spacecraft, astronomers have conducted a detailed temporal and spectral study of an eclipsing supergiant X-ray binary known as IGR J18027–2016. Results of this research provide important insights into the properties of this system.
Further details on Phys web portal.
