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\t\t\t\t\t\t10\/12\/2024<\/span> Today, ESA\u2019s powerful X-ray observatory, XMM-Newton, celebrates 25 years in space. From planets to black holes, the space telescope has delivered many ground-breaking observations of a variety of celestial objects. And the mission is still going strong as recent results testify. We take a look at five fascinating discoveries from the last five years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n XMM-Newton was launched on Ariane-5 from ESA\u2019s Kourou space port, on 10 December 1999.<\/p>\n \u201cESA and its member states had invested a great deal in developing this mission and at the time expectations were very high,\u201d notes ESA Director of Science, Prof. Carole Mundell. \u201cAnd we were not disappointed: XMM-Newton has rewarded us handsomely with a treasure-trove of exceptional discoveries and continues to surprise us. Its launch marked a turning point for European leadership in X-ray astronomy and we continue to see new generations of scientists asking questions we could not have imagined when the mission was first proposed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe spacecraft\u2019s X-ray telescope is still the largest in terms of collecting area,\u201d adds Norbert Schartel, ESA XMM-Newton Project Scientist. \u201cThanks to this, the mission can carry out uniquely sensitive observations of some of the most powerful and dramatic events in our Universe, advancing our understanding of the cosmos.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n To celebrate XMM-Newton’s 25 years in space we selected five prominent results\u00a0that the telescope has made possible in the last five years. From the Solar System to remote galaxies, they showcase the power and versatility of X-ray observations. Let\u2019s take a trip through these fascinating findings.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Setting off on our journey from the Solar System, we find that XMM-Newton helped to answer a 40-year old mystery: how do X-ray auroras arise at Jupiter\u2019s magnetic poles?<\/p>\n The observations in X-rays of ESA\u2019s telescope combined with measurements by NASA\u2019s Juno mission, enabled astronomers to see the aurora-making mechanism at work, for the first time. As Jupiter rotates and drags its magnetic field, the field is compressed. This heats the particles trapped by the magnetic field which directs them down into the atmosphere of Jupiter, sparking the X-ray aurora.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n In our galaxy, a set of ESA\u2019s XMM-Newton and NASA\u2019s Chandra pioneering observations spurred a new understanding of what happens inside a neutron star. The X-ray observatories spotted three exceptionally young neutron stars that are unusually cold for their age.<\/p>\n Scientists compared the three ‘oddballs’ with theoretical predictions of how neutron stars could cool down. Since these predictions are linked to the theories of a neutron star\u2019s interior, the comparison can be used to test the theories and to address fundamental questions about a neutron star\u2019s makeup.\u00a0<\/p>\n Neutron stars get their name from the fact that under their immense pressure, even atoms collapse: electrons merge with atomic cores, turning protons into neutrons. Or do they? Could the extreme pressure give rise to exotic particles? Or possibly melt protons and neutrons together into a swirling quark soup?<\/p>\n Thanks to XMM-Newton and Chandra, scientists were able to reject most theories of the interior of neutron stars. This helps them to focus on fewer ideas and get closer to answering the long-standing puzzle of the state of matter in neutron stars\u2019 cores.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n In the \u2018neighbourhood\u2019 outside our home galaxy, XMM-Newton has shed light on the environments closely surrounding gigantic black holes.\u00a0<\/p>\n ESA\u2019s XMM-Newton and NASA\u2019s NuSTAR space telescopes observed extremely bright flares of X-ray light coming from around a supermassive black hole. This gravitational \u2018monster\u2019 is 10 million times more massive than the Sun and lies at the centre of a spiral galaxy 800 million light-years from Earth.<\/p>\n The telescopes picked up X-ray flares bouncing off the gas falling into the black hole. And also, for the first time, they captured the echoes of these flares reflected by the gas in the disc behind the black hole. By looking at the delays between the primary flares and their echoes, astronomers can create a 3D-map of the black hole surroundings.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Further out, at 1 billion light-years from Earth, researchers have used XMM-Newton to track these light echoes from the \u2018corona\u2019 of a supermassive black hole in the core of an active galaxy. The corona is the cloud of billion-degree gas surrounding the black hole and its dynamics are strongly linked to the characteristics of this gravitational monster.<\/p>\n By watching how light bounced off from the corona scientists were able to track how it changed over time. From this, they could determine the mass and spin of the galaxy\u2019s central black hole with increased accuracy.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n We end our trip through XMM-Newton\u2019s recent discoveries at 240 million light-years away from Earth, in the Perseus cluster of galaxies. For the first time, XMM-Newton captured direct signs that the fiery hot gas dispersed among the galaxies is flowing and sloshing.<\/p>\n The Perseus cluster\u00a0is one of the most massive known objects in the Universe. It contains hundreds to thousands of galaxies and a huge amount of intergalactic gas at temperatures of around 50 \u00ad\u00ad\u00admillion degrees that shines brightly in X-rays.<\/p>\n Learning more about the motions of intra-cluster gas is key to understanding how galaxy clusters form and evolve. Scientists think that these massive flows may be driven by smaller sub-clusters of galaxies colliding and merging with the main cluster itself.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cThese recent results testify to the breadth and depth of research that our X-ray telescope has made possible,\u201d comments Peter Kretschmar, ESA XMM-Newton Mission Manager. \u201cIt is extremely gratifying to see how well XMM-Newton has been doing over a quarter of a century, and that it is in excellent shape to continue serving the astronomical community for many more years.\u201d<\/p>\n Crucially, XMM-Newton\u2019s observations also serve to prepare for investigations with ESA\u2019s future large-class mission NewAthena, planned to be the largest X-ray observatory ever built.<\/p>\n So, happy birthday XMM-Newton! We are looking forward to many more years of exciting discoveries.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \nContact:<\/b>
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nJupiter\u2019s mystery<\/h2>\n
Scrutinizing neutron stars <\/h2>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAt the edge of a gigantic black hole<\/h2>\n
Sizing up the \u2018monster\u2019<\/h2>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nBlistering gas sloshing among galaxies<\/h2>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nLooking forward<\/h2>\n
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