SATLASX-ray · Space
XMM-Newton
OperatingOperating since 10 December 1999.
Three Wolter-Igrazing-incidence opticsX-rays reflect only at angles of a degree or less, so X-ray telescopes use nested shells of paraboloid and hyperboloid mirrors seen almost edge-on (the Wolter-I design). More shells add effective area; figure accuracy sets the PSF. modules of 58 nested gold-coated shells each, the largest collecting areaeffective areaGeometric collecting area multiplied by the efficiency of optics and detector, as a function of energy or wavelength. The figure of merit for photon-starved X-ray and gamma-ray instruments, in cm². of any focusing X-ray observatory of its generation, feed the EPIC pn and MOS CCDCCDCharge-coupled device: a silicon pixel array that stores photo-electrons and shifts them to a readout amplifier. The workhorse optical detector; in X-rays, each photon's charge also measures its energy. cameras, the RGS grating spectrometers and a 30 cm Optical Monitor. Its throughput makes it the reference for X-ray spectroscopy and timing of faint sources: AGN, cluster cosmology and stellar coronae.
- Operator
- ESA
- Orbit
- Highly elliptical Earth orbit
- Aperture
- 3 mirror modules, 58 nested shells each
- EPIC/RGS
- 0.15 keV – 15 keV
- Optical Monitor
- 170 nm – 650 nm
- Launch
- 10 December 1999
Passband
Sky coverage
Pointed observationspointed observationObserving chosen targets, usually selected by peer review in annual proposal cycles, as opposed to surveying the sky systematically. Gives depth on few objects; the total area observed stays small. from a 48-hour elliptical orbit with a 30′ field; data taken while slewing between targets form the XMM-Newton Slew Survey.
Archives
Sources
Verified 15 November 2026.