ASTRO-C, renamed Ginga (Japanese for 'galaxy'), was an X-ray astronomy

X-ray astronomy

X-ray astronomy is an observational branch of astronomy which deals with the study of X-ray observation and detection from astronomical objects. X-radiation is absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere, so instruments to detect X-rays must be taken to high altitude by balloons, sounding rockets, and...

 satellite

Satellite

In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....

 launched from the Kagoshima Space Center on 5 February 1987. The primary instrument for observations was the Large Area Counter (LAC). Ginga was the third Japanese X-ray

X-ray

X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...

 astronomy mission, following Hakucho

Hakucho

Hakucho was Japan's first X-ray astronomy satellite, developed by the Institute of Space and Aeronautical Science...

 and Tenma

Tenma

Tenma, known as Astro-B before launch, was Japan's second X-ray astronomy satellite, developed by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science. It was launched on February 20, 1983 using a M-3S-3 rocket as the vehicle....

. Ginga reentered the Earth's atmosphere on 1 November 1991.

Instruments

• Large Area Proportional Counter (LAC 1.5-37 keV)
• All-Sky Monitor (ASM 1-20 keV)
• Gamma-ray Burst Detector (GBD 1.5-500 keV)

Highlights

• Discovery of transient Black Hole Candidates and study of their spectral evolution.
• Discovery of weak transients in the galactic ridge.
• Detection of cyclotron features in 3 X-ray pulsar
  X-ray pulsar
  X-ray pulsars or accretion-powered pulsars are a class of astronomical objects that are X-ray sources displaying strict periodic variations in X-ray intensity...
  
  s: 4U1538-522, V0332+53, and Cep X-4.
• Evidence for emission and absorption Fe feature in Seyfert
  Seyfert galaxy
  Seyfert galaxies are a class of galaxies with nuclei that produce spectral line emission from highly ionized gas, named after Carl Keenan Seyfert, the astronomer who first identified the class in 1943...
  
   probing reprocessing by cold matter.
• Discovery of intense 6-7 keV iron line emission from the galactic center
  Galactic Center
  The Galactic Center is the rotational center of the Milky Way galaxy. It is located at a distance of 8.33±0.35 kpc from the Earth in the direction of the constellations Sagittarius, Ophiuchus, and Scorpius where the Milky Way appears brightest...
  
  region.

External links

• NASA/GSFC information of Ginga (ex Astro-C)