X-ray astronomy
Encyclopedia
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
which deals with the study of 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...
observation and detection from astronomical object
Astronomical object
Astronomical objects or celestial objects are naturally occurring physical entities, associations or structures that current science has demonstrated to exist in the observable universe. The term astronomical object is sometimes used interchangeably with astronomical body...
s. X-radiation is absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere
Earth's atmosphere
The atmosphere of Earth is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by Earth's gravity. The atmosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention , and reducing temperature extremes between day and night...
, so instruments to detect X-rays must be taken to high altitude by balloons, sounding rockets, and satellite
X-ray astronomy satellites
X-ray astronomy satellites study X-ray emissions from celestial objects. Satellites, which can detect and transmit data about the X-ray emissions are deployed as part of branch of space science known as X-ray astronomy...
s. X-ray astronomy is part of space science
Space science
The term space science may mean:* The study of issues specifically related to space travel and space exploration, including space medicine.* Science performed in outer space ....
.
X-ray emission is expected from astronomical objects that contain an extremely hot gas
Gas
Gas is one of the three classical states of matter . Near absolute zero, a substance exists as a solid. As heat is added to this substance it melts into a liquid at its melting point , boils into a gas at its boiling point, and if heated high enough would enter a plasma state in which the electrons...
at temperature
Temperature
Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
s from about a million kelvin
Kelvin
The kelvin is a unit of measurement for temperature. It is one of the seven base units in the International System of Units and is assigned the unit symbol K. The Kelvin scale is an absolute, thermodynamic temperature scale using as its null point absolute zero, the temperature at which all...
(K) to hundreds of millions of kelvin (MK). Although X-rays have been observed emanating from the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
since the 1940s, the discovery in 1962 of the first cosmic X-ray source was a surprise. This source is called Scorpius X-1
Scorpius X-1
Scorpius X-1 is an X-ray source located roughly 9000 light years away in the constellation Scorpius. Scorpius X-1 was the first extrasolar X-ray source discovered, and, aside from the Sun, it is the strongest source of X-rays in the sky...
(Sco X-1), the first X-ray source found in the constellation
Constellation
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
Scorpius. The X-ray emission of Scorpius X-1 is 10,000 times greater than its visual emission, whereas that of the Sun is about a million times less. In addition, the energy output in X-rays is 100,000 times greater than the total emission of the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
in all wavelength
Wavelength
In physics, the wavelength of a sinusoidal wave is the spatial period of the wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats.It is usually determined by considering the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase, such as crests, troughs, or zero crossings, and is a...
s. Based on discoveries in this new field of X-ray astronomy, starting with Scorpius X-1, Riccardo Giacconi
Riccardo Giacconi
Riccardo Giacconi is an Italian/American Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist who laid the foundations of X-ray astronomy. He is currently a professor at the Johns Hopkins University.- Biography :...
received the Nobel Prize in Physics
Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
in 2002. It is now known that such X-ray sources as Sco X-1 are compact star
Compact star
In astronomy, the term compact star is used to refer collectively to white dwarfs, neutron stars, other exotic dense stars, and black holes. These objects are all small for their mass...
s, such as neutron star
Neutron star
A neutron star is a type of stellar remnant that can result from the gravitational collapse of a massive star during a Type II, Type Ib or Type Ic supernova event. Such stars are composed almost entirely of neutrons, which are subatomic particles without electrical charge and with a slightly larger...
s or black hole
Black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
s. Material falling into a black hole may emit X-rays, but the black hole itself does not. The energy source for the X-ray emission is gravity. Gas is heated by the fall in the strong gravitational field
Gravitational field
The gravitational field is a model used in physics to explain the existence of gravity. In its original concept, gravity was a force between point masses...
of these and other celestial objects.
Many thousands of X-ray sources are known. In addition, the space between galaxies
Galaxy
A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias , literally "milky", a...
in galaxy clusters is filled with a very hot, but very dilute gas at a temperature between 10 and 100 megakelvins (MK). The total amount of hot gas is five to ten times the total mass in the visible galaxies.
Sounding rocket flights
A detector is placed in the nose coneNose cone
The term nose cone is used to refer to the forwardmost section of a rocket, guided missile or aircraft. The cone is shaped to offer minimum aerodynamic resistance...
section of a sounding rocket and launched above the atmosphere. This is first accomplished at White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range...
in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
with a V-2 rocket
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
on January 28, 1949. X-rays from the Sun are detected by the USA Naval Research Laboratory Blossom experiment on board. An Aerobee 150 rocket launched on June 12, 1962 detects the first X-rays from other celestial sources (Scorpius X-1). The largest drawback to rocket flights is their very short duration (just a few minutes above the atmosphere before the rocket falls back to Earth) and their limited field of view
Field of view
The field of view is the extent of the observable world that is seen at any given moment....
. A rocket launched from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
will not be able to see sources in the southern sky; a rocket launched from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
will not be able to see sources in the northern sky.
X-ray Quantum Calorimeter (XQC) project
In astronomy, the interstellar mediumInterstellar medium
In astronomy, the interstellar medium is the matter that exists in the space between the star systems in a galaxy. This matter includes gas in ionic, atomic, and molecular form, dust, and cosmic rays. It fills interstellar space and blends smoothly into the surrounding intergalactic space...
(or ISM) is the gas and cosmic dust
Cosmic dust
Cosmic dust is a type of dust composed of particles in space which are a few molecules to 0.1 µm in size. Cosmic dust can be further distinguished by its astronomical location; for example: intergalactic dust, interstellar dust, interplanetary dust and circumplanetary dust .In our own Solar...
that pervade interstellar space: the matter
Matter
Matter is a general term for the substance of which all physical objects consist. Typically, matter includes atoms and other particles which have mass. A common way of defining matter is as anything that has mass and occupies volume...
that exists between the star system
Star system
A star system or stellar system is a small number of stars which orbit each other, bound by gravitational attraction. A large number of stars bound by gravitation is generally called a star cluster or galaxy, although, broadly speaking, they are also star systems.-Binary star systems:A stellar...
s within a galaxy. It fills interstellar space and blends smoothly into the surrounding intergalactic medium. The interstellar medium consists of an extremely dilute (by terrestrial standards) mixture of ion
Ion
An ion is an atom or molecule in which the total number of electrons is not equal to the total number of protons, giving it a net positive or negative electrical charge. The name was given by physicist Michael Faraday for the substances that allow a current to pass between electrodes in a...
s, atom
Atom
The atom is a basic unit of matter that consists of a dense central nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. The atomic nucleus contains a mix of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons...
s, molecule
Molecule
A molecule is an electrically neutral group of at least two atoms held together by covalent chemical bonds. Molecules are distinguished from ions by their electrical charge...
s, larger dust grains, cosmic ray
Cosmic ray
Cosmic rays are energetic charged subatomic particles, originating from outer space. They may produce secondary particles that penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and surface. The term ray is historical as cosmic rays were thought to be electromagnetic radiation...
s, and (galactic) magnetic fields. The energy that occupies the same volume, in the form of electromagnetic radiation
Electromagnetic radiation
Electromagnetic radiation is a form of energy that exhibits wave-like behavior as it travels through space...
, is the interstellar radiation field.
Of interest is the hot ionized medium (HIM) consisting of a coronal cloud at 106-107 K which emits X-rays. The ISM is turbulent
Turbulence
In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is a flow regime characterized by chaotic and stochastic property changes. This includes low momentum diffusion, high momentum convection, and rapid variation of pressure and velocity in space and time...
and full of structure on all spatial scales. Stars are born
Star formation
Star formation is the process by which dense parts of molecular clouds collapse into a ball of plasma to form a star. As a branch of astronomy star formation includes the study of the interstellar medium and giant molecular clouds as precursors to the star formation process and the study of young...
deep inside large complexes of molecular clouds, typically a few parsec
Parsec
The parsec is a unit of length used in astronomy. It is about 3.26 light-years, or just under 31 trillion kilometres ....
s in size. During their lives and deaths, star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
s interact physically with the ISM. Stellar wind
Stellar wind
A stellar wind is a flow of neutral or charged gas ejected from the upper atmosphere of a star. It is distinguished from the bipolar outflows characteristic of young stars by being less collimated, although stellar winds are not generally spherically symmetric.Different types of stars have...
s from young clusters of stars (often with giant or supergiant HII regions surrounding them) and shock wave
Shock wave
A shock wave is a type of propagating disturbance. Like an ordinary wave, it carries energy and can propagate through a medium or in some cases in the absence of a material medium, through a field such as the electromagnetic field...
s created by supernova
Supernova
A supernova is a stellar explosion that is more energetic than a nova. It is pronounced with the plural supernovae or supernovas. Supernovae are extremely luminous and cause a burst of radiation that often briefly outshines an entire galaxy, before fading from view over several weeks or months...
e inject enormous amounts of energy into their surroundings, which leads to hypersonic turbulence. The resultant structures are stellar wind bubble
Stellar wind bubble
Stellar-wind bubble is the astronomical term usually used to describe a cavity light years across filled with hot gas blown into the interstellar medium by the high-velocity stellar wind from a single massive star of type O or B. Weaker stellar winds still blow bubble structures though, and these...
s and superbubble
Superbubble
Superbubble is the astronomical term used to describe a cavity hundreds of light years across filled with 106 K gas blown into the interstellar medium by multiple supernovae and stellar winds...
s of hot gas. The Sun is currently traveling through the Local Interstellar Cloud
Local Interstellar Cloud
The Local Interstellar Cloud is the interstellar cloud roughly 30 light years across through which the Earth's solar system is currently moving. The Solar System is thought to have entered the Local Interstellar Cloud at some time between 44,000 and 150,000 years ago and is expected to remain...
, a denser region in the low-density Local Bubble
Local Bubble
The Local Bubble is a cavity in the interstellar medium of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way. It is at least 300 light years across and has a neutral hydrogen density of about 0.05 atoms per cubic centimetre, or approximately one tenth of the average for the ISM in the Milky Way , and half that for...
.
To measure the spectrum of the diffuse X-ray emission from the interstellar medium over the energy range 0.07 to 1 keV, NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
launched a Black Brant 9
Black Brant (rocket)
The Black Brant is a Canadian-designed sounding rocket built by Bristol Aerospace in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Over 800 Black Brants of various versions have been launched since they were first produced in 1961, and the type remains one of the most popular sounding rockets ever built...
from White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico on May 1, 2008. The Principal Investigator for the mission is Dr. Dan McCammon of the University of Wisconsin.
Balloons
Balloon flights can carry instruments to altitudes of up to 40 km above sea levelSea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
, where they are above as much as 99.997% of the Earth's atmosphere. Unlike a rocket where data are collected during a brief few minutes, balloons are able to stay aloft for much longer. However, even at such altitudes, much of the X-ray spectrum
Electromagnetic spectrum
The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. The "electromagnetic spectrum" of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by that particular object....
is still absorbed. X-rays with energies less than 35 keV (5,600 aJ) cannot reach balloons. On July 21, 1964, the Crab Nebula
Crab Nebula
The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant and pulsar wind nebula in the constellation of Taurus...
supernova remnant is discovered to be a hard X-ray (15 - 60 keV) source by a scintillation counter flown on a balloon launched from Palestine, Texas
Palestine, Texas
Palestine is a city in Anderson County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 17,598, and 18,458 in the 2009 estimate. It is the county seat of Anderson County and is situated in East Texas...
, USA. This is likely the first balloon-based detection of X-rays from a discrete cosmic X-ray source.
High-energy focusing telescope
The high-energy focusing telescope (HEFT) is a balloon-borne experiment to image astrophysical sources in the hard X-ray (20-100 keV) band. Its maiden flight took place in May 2005 from Fort Sumner, New Mexico, USA. The angular resolution of HEFT is ~1.5'. Rather than using a grazing-angle X-ray telescopeX-ray telescope
An X-ray telescope is a telescope that is designed to observe remote objects in the X-ray spectrum. In order to get above the Earth's atmosphere, which is opaque to X-rays, X-ray telescopes must be mounted on high altitude rockets or artificial satellites.-Optical design:X-ray telescopes can use...
, HEFT makes use of a novel tungsten
Tungsten
Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...
-silicon multilayer coatings to extend the reflectivity of nested grazing-incidence mirrors beyond 10 keV. HEFT has an energy resolution of 1.0 keV full width at half maximum
Full width at half maximum
Full width at half maximum is an expression of the extent of a function, given by the difference between the two extreme values of the independent variable at which the dependent variable is equal to half of its maximum value....
at 60 keV. HEFT is launched for a 25-hour balloon flight in May 2005. The instrument performed within specification and observed Tau X-1
SN 1054
SN 1054 is a supernova that was first observed as a new "star" in the sky on July 4, 1054 AD, hence its name, and that lasted for a period of around two years. The event was recorded in multiple Chinese and Japanese documents and in one document from the Arab world...
, the Crab Nebula.
High-resolution gamma-ray and hard X-ray spectrometer (HIREGS)
One of the recent balloon-borne experiments is called the High-resolution gamma-ray and hard X-ray spectrometer (HIREGS). It is launched from McMurdo StationMcMurdo Station
McMurdo Station is a U.S. Antarctic research center located on the southern tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand-claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program, a branch of the National...
, Antarctica in December 1991, steady winds carried the balloon on a circumpolar flight lasting about two weeks.
Rockoons
The rockoonRockoon
A rockoon is a solid fuel sounding rocket that, rather than being immediately lit while on the ground, is first carried into the upper atmosphere by a gas-filled balloon, then separated from the balloon and automatically ignited...
(a portmanteau of rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
and balloon
Balloon
A balloon is an inflatable flexible bag filled with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. Modern balloons can be made from materials such as rubber, latex, polychloroprene, or a nylon fabric, while some early balloons were made of dried animal bladders, such as the pig...
) was a solid fuel rocket that, rather than being immediately lit while on the ground, was first carried into the upper atmosphere by a gas-filled balloon. Then, once separated from the balloon at its maximum height, the rocket was automatically ignited. This achieved a higher altitude, since the rocket did not have to move through the lower, thicker air layers.
The original concept of "rockoons" was developed by Cmdr. Lee Lewis, Cmdr. G. Halvorson, S. F. Singer, and James A. Van Allen during the Aerobee rocket firing cruise of the on March 1, 1949.
Deacon (rocket)
Deacon is the designation of an American sounding rocket. The Deacon was launched 90 times from 1947 to 1957 from Wallops Island. The Deacon has a maximum flight height of 20 kilometers and a pay load ability of 17 kilograms...
rockoons for solar ultraviolet
Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...
and X-ray observations at ~30° N ~121.6° W, southwest of San Clemente Island
San Clemente Island
San Clemente Island is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy, and is a part of Los Angeles County. Defined by the United States Census Bureau as Block Group 2 of Census Tract 5991 of Los Angeles County, California, it is long and...
, apogee: 120 km.
X-ray astronomy satellites
X-ray astronomy satellites study X-ray emissions from celestial objects. Satellites, which can detect and transmit data about the X-ray emissions are deployed as part of branch of space science known as X-ray astronomy. Satellites are needed because 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 satellites.X-ray telescopes and mirrors
X-ray telescopes (XRTs) have varying directionality or imaging ability based on glancing angle reflection rather than refraction or large deviation reflection.This limits them to much narrow fields of view than visible or UV telescopes. The mirrors can be made of ceramic or metal foil.
The first X-ray telescope in astronomy is used to observe the Sun. The first X-ray picture of the Sun is taken in 1963, by a rocket-borne telescope.
The utilization of X-ray mirrors for extrasolar X-ray astronomy simultaneously requires:
- the ability to determine the location at the arrival of an X-ray photon in two dimensions and
- a reasonable detection efficiency.
X-ray astronomy detectors
X-ray astronomy detectors have been designed and configured primarily for energy and occasionally for wave-length detection using a variety of techniques usually limited to the technology of the time.X-ray detectors collect individual X-rays (photons of X-ray electromagnetic radiation) and count the number of photons collected (intensity), the energy (0.12 to 120 keV) of the photons collected, wavelength (~0.008 to 8 nm), or how fast the photons are detected (counts per hour), to tell us about the object that is emitting them.
Astrophysical sources of X-rays
Several types of astrophysical objects emit, fluoresce, or reflect X-rays, from galaxy clusterGalaxy cluster
A galaxy cluster is a compact cluster of galaxies. Basic difference between a galaxy group and a galaxy cluster is that there are many more galaxies in a cluster than in a group. Also, galaxies in a cluster are more compact and have higher velocity dispersion. One of the key features of cluster is...
s, through black holes in active galactic nuclei
Active galactic nucleus
An active galactic nucleus is a compact region at the centre of a galaxy that has a much higher than normal luminosity over at least some portion, and possibly all, of the electromagnetic spectrum. Such excess emission has been observed in the radio, infrared, optical, ultra-violet, X-ray and...
(AGN) to galactic objects such as supernova remnant
Supernova remnant
A supernova remnant is the structure resulting from the explosion of a star in a supernova. The supernova remnant is bounded by an expanding shock wave, and consists of ejected material expanding from the explosion, and the interstellar material it sweeps up and shocks along the way.There are two...
s, stars, and binary star
Binary star
A binary star is a star system consisting of two stars orbiting around their common center of mass. The brighter star is called the primary and the other is its companion star, comes, or secondary...
s containing a white dwarf
White dwarf
A white dwarf, also called a degenerate dwarf, is a small star composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. They are very dense; a white dwarf's mass is comparable to that of the Sun and its volume is comparable to that of the Earth. Its faint luminosity comes from the emission of stored...
(cataclysmic variable star
Cataclysmic variable star
Cataclysmic variable stars are stars which irregularly increase in brightness by a large factor, then drop back down to a quiescent state...
s and super soft X-ray sources), neutron star or black hole (X-ray binaries). Some solar system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
bodies emit X-rays, the most notable being the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
, although most of the X-ray brightness of the Moon arises from reflected solar X-rays. A combination of many unresolved X-ray sources is thought to produce the observed X-ray background
X-ray background
The observed X-ray background is thought to result from, at the "soft" end , Galactic X-ray emission , and, at the "hard" end , from a combination of many unresolved X-ray sources outside of the Milky Way .The galactic X-ray background is produced largely by emission from hot gas in the Local...
. The X-ray continuum can arise from bremsstrahlung
Bremsstrahlung
Bremsstrahlung is electromagnetic radiation produced by the deceleration of a charged particle when deflected by another charged particle, typically an electron by an atomic nucleus. The moving particle loses kinetic energy, which is converted into a photon because energy is conserved. The term is...
, black-body radiation
Thermal radiation
Thermal radiation is electromagnetic radiation generated by the thermal motion of charged particles in matter. All matter with a temperature greater than absolute zero emits thermal radiation....
, synchrotron radiation
Synchrotron radiation
The electromagnetic radiation emitted when charged particles are accelerated radially is called synchrotron radiation. It is produced in synchrotrons using bending magnets, undulators and/or wigglers...
, or what is called inverse Compton scattering of lower-energy photons by relativistic electrons, knock-on collisions of fast protons with atomic electrons, and atomic recombination, with or without additional electron transitions.
An intermediate-mass X-ray binary (IMXB) is a binary star system where one of the components is a neutron star or a black hole. The other component is an intermediate mass star.
Hercules X-1
Hercules X-1
Hercules X-1 , also known as 4U1656+35, is a moderately strong X-ray binary source first studied by the Uhuru satellite.It is composed of a neutron star accreting matter from a normal star probably due to Roche lobe overflow....
is composed of a neutron star accreting matter from a normal star (HZ Herculis) probably due to Roche lobe overflow. X-1 is the prototype for the massive X-ray binaries although it falls on the borderline, ~2 M☉, between high- and low-mass X-ray binaries.
Celestial X-ray sources
The celestial sphereCelestial sphere
In astronomy and navigation, the celestial sphere is an imaginary sphere of arbitrarily large radius, concentric with the Earth and rotating upon the same axis. All objects in the sky can be thought of as projected upon the celestial sphere. Projected upward from Earth's equator and poles are the...
has been divided into 88 constellations. The International Astronomical Union
International Astronomical Union
The International Astronomical Union IAU is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy...
(IAU) constellations are areas of the sky. Each of these contains remarkable X-ray sources. Some of them are have been identified from astrophysical modeling to be galaxies or black holes at the centers of galaxies. Some are pulsar
Pulsar
A pulsar is a highly magnetized, rotating neutron star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation. The radiation can only be observed when the beam of emission is pointing towards the Earth. This is called the lighthouse effect and gives rise to the pulsed nature that gives pulsars their name...
s. As with sources already successfully modeled by X-ray astrophysics, striving to understand the generation of X-rays by the apparent source helps to understand the Sun, the universe
Universe
The Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature...
as a whole, and how these affect us on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. Constellations are an astronomical device for handling observation and precision independent of current physical theory or interpretation. Astronomy has been around for a long time. Physical theory changes with time. With respect to celestial X-ray sources, X-ray astrophysics tends to focus on the physical reason for X-ray brightness, whereas X-ray astronomy tends to focus on their classification, order of discovery, variability, resolvability, and their relationship with nearby sources in other constellations.
Within the constellations Orion and Eridanus and stretching across them is a soft X-ray "hot spot" known as the Orion-Eridanus Superbubble, the Eridanus Soft X-ray Enhancement, or simply the Eridanus Bubble, a 25° area of interlocking arcs of Hα emitting filaments. Soft X-rays are emitted by hot gas (T ~ 2-3 MK) in the interior of the superbubble. This bright object forms the background for the "shadow" of a filament of gas and dust. The filament is shown by the overlaid contours, which represent 100 micrometre emission from dust at a temperature of about 30 K as measured by IRAS
IRAS
The Infrared Astronomical Satellite was the first-ever space-based observatory to perform a survey of the entire sky at infrared wavelengths....
. Here the filament absorbs soft X-rays between 100 and 300 eV, indicating that the hot gas is located behind the filament. This filament may be part of a shell of neutral gas that surrounds the hot bubble. Its interior is energized by ultraviolet
Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...
(UV) light and stellar winds from hot stars in the Orion OB1 association. These stars energize a superbubble about 1200 lys across which is observed in the visual (Hα) and X-ray portions of the spectrum.
Proposed (future) X-ray observatory satellites
There are several projects that are proposed for X-ray observatory satellites. See main article link above.Explorational X-ray astronomy
Usually observational astronomy is considered to occur on Earth's surface (or beneath it in neutrino astronomyNeutrino astronomy
Neutrino astronomy is the branch of astronomy that observes astronomical objects with neutrino detectors in special observatories. Nuclear reactions in stars and supernova explosions produce very large numbers of neutrinos, a very few of which may be detected by a neutrino telescope...
). The idea of limiting observation to Earth includes orbiting the Earth. As soon as the observer leaves the cozy confines of Earth, the observer becomes a deep space explorer. Except for Explorer 1 and Explorer 3
Explorer 3
Explorer 3 was an artificial satellite of the Earth, nearly identical to the first United States artificial satellite Explorer 1 in its design and mission...
and the earlier satellites in the series, usually if a probe is going to be a deep space explorer it leaves the Earth or an orbit around the Earth.
For a satellite or space probe to qualify as a deep space X-ray astronomer/explorer or "astronobot"/explorer, all it needs to carry aboard is an XRT or X-ray detector and leave Earth orbit.
Ulysses is launched October 6, 1990, and reached Jupiter for its "gravitational slingshot" in February 1992. It passed the south solar pole in June 1994 and crossed the ecliptic equator in February 1995. The solar X-ray and cosmic gamma-ray burst experiment (GRB) had 3 main objectives: study and monitor solar flares, detect and localize cosmic gamma-ray bursts, and in-situ detection of Jovian aurorae. Ulysses was the first satellite carrying a gamma burst detector which went outside the orbit of Mars. The hard X-ray detectors operated in the range 15-150 keV. The detectors consisted of 23-mm thick × 51-mm diameter CsI(Tl) crystals mounted via plastic light tubes to photomultipliers. The hard detector changed its operating mode depending on (1) measured count rate, (2) ground command, or (3) change in spacecraft telemetry mode. The trigger level was generally set for 8-sigma above background and the sensitivity is 10−6 erg/cm2 (1 nJ/m2). When a burst trigger is recorded, the instrument switches to record high resolution data, recording it to a 32-kbit memory for a slow telemetry read out. Burst data consist of either 16 s of 8-ms resolution count rates or 64 s of 32-ms count rates from the sum of the 2 detectors. There were also 16 channel energy spectra from the sum of the 2 detectors (taken either in 1, 2, 4, 16, or 32 second integrations). During 'wait' mode, the data were taken either in 0.25 or 0.5 s integrations and 4 energy channels (with shortest integration time being 8 s). Again, the outputs of the 2 detectors were summed.
The Ulysses soft X-ray detectors consisted of 2.5-mm thick × 0.5 cm2 area Si surface barrier detectors. A 100 mg/cm2 beryllium foil front window rejected the low energy X-rays and defined a conical FOV of 75° (half-angle). These detectors were passively cooled and operate in the temperature range −35 to −55 °C. This detector had 6 energy channels, covering the range 5-20 keV.
Theoretical X-ray astronomy
Theoretical X-ray astronomy is a branch of theoretical astronomyTheoretical astronomy
Based on strict dictionary definitions, "astronomy" refers to "the study of objects and matter outside the Earth's atmosphere and of their physical and chemical properties" In some cases, as in the introduction of the introductory textbook The Physical Universe by Frank Shu, "astronomy" may be used...
that deals with the theoretical astrophysics
Astrophysics
Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...
and theoretical astrochemistry
Astrochemistry
Astrochemistry is the study of the abundance and reactions of chemical elements and molecules in the universe, and their interaction with radiation. The discipline is an overlap of astronomy and chemistry. The word "astrochemistry" may be applied to both the Solar System and the interstellar medium...
of X-ray generation, emission, and detection as applied to astronomical object
Astronomical object
Astronomical objects or celestial objects are naturally occurring physical entities, associations or structures that current science has demonstrated to exist in the observable universe. The term astronomical object is sometimes used interchangeably with astronomical body...
s.
Like theoretical astrophysics, theoretical X-ray astronomy uses a wide variety of tools which include analytical model
Mathematical model
A mathematical model is a description of a system using mathematical concepts and language. The process of developing a mathematical model is termed mathematical modeling. Mathematical models are used not only in the natural sciences and engineering disciplines A mathematical model is a...
s to approximate the behavior of a possible X-ray source and computation
Computation
Computation is defined as any type of calculation. Also defined as use of computer technology in Information processing.Computation is a process following a well-defined model understood and expressed in an algorithm, protocol, network topology, etc...
al numerical simulation
Numerical analysis
Numerical analysis is the study of algorithms that use numerical approximation for the problems of mathematical analysis ....
s to approximate the observational data. Once potential observational consequences are available they can be compared with experimental observations. Observers can look for data that refutes a model or helps in choosing between several alternate or conflicting models.
Theorists also try to generate or modify models to take into account new data. In the case of an inconsistency, the general tendency is to try to make minimal modifications to the model to fit the data. In some cases, a large amount of inconsistent data over time may lead to total abandonment of a model.
Most of the topics in astrophysics
Astrophysics
Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...
, astrochemistry
Astrochemistry
Astrochemistry is the study of the abundance and reactions of chemical elements and molecules in the universe, and their interaction with radiation. The discipline is an overlap of astronomy and chemistry. The word "astrochemistry" may be applied to both the Solar System and the interstellar medium...
, astrometry
Astrometry
Astrometry is the branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other celestial bodies. The information obtained by astrometric measurements provides information on the kinematics and physical origin of our Solar System and our Galaxy, the Milky...
, and other fields that are branches of astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
studied by theoreticians involve X-rays and X-ray sources. Many of the beginnings for a theory can be found in an Earth-based laboratory where an X-ray source is built and studied.
Dynamos
Dynamo theory describes the process through which a rotating, convecting, and electrically conducting fluid acts to maintain a magnetic fieldMagnetic field
A magnetic field is a mathematical description of the magnetic influence of electric currents and magnetic materials. The magnetic field at any given point is specified by both a direction and a magnitude ; as such it is a vector field.Technically, a magnetic field is a pseudo vector;...
. This theory is used to explain the presence of anomalously long-lived magnetic fields in astrophysical bodies. If some of the stellar magnetic fields are really induced by dynamos, then field strength might be associated with rotation rate.
Astronomical models
From the observed X-ray spectrum, combined with spectral emission results for other wavelength ranges, an astronomical model addressing the likely source of X-ray emission can be constructed. For example, with Scorpius X-1 the X-ray spectrum steeply drops off as X-ray energy increases up to 20 keV, which is likely for a thermal-plasma mechanism. In addition, there is no radio emission, and the visible continuum is roughly what would be expected from a hot plasma fitting the observed X-ray flux. The plasma could be a coronal cloud of a central object or a transient plasma, where the energy source is unknown, but could be related to the idea of a close binary.In the Crab Nebula X-ray spectrum there are three features that differ greatly from Scorpius X-1: its spectrum is much harder, its source diameter is in light-year
Light-year
A light-year, also light year or lightyear is a unit of length, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres...
s (ly)s, not astronomical unit
Astronomical unit
An astronomical unit is a unit of length equal to about or approximately the mean Earth–Sun distance....
s (AU), and its radio and optical synchrotron emission are strong. Its overall X-ray luminosity rivals the optical emission and could be that of a nonthermal plasma. However, the Crab Nebula appears as an X-ray source that is a central freely expanding ball of dilute plasma, where the energy content is 100 times the total energy content of the large visible and radio portion, obtained from the unknown source.
The "Dividing Line" as giant star
Giant star
A giant star is a star with substantially larger radius and luminosity than a main sequence star of the same surface temperature. Typically, giant stars have radii between 10 and 100 solar radii and luminosities between 10 and 1,000 times that of the Sun. Stars still more luminous than giants are...
s evolve to become red giant
Red giant
A red giant is a luminous giant star of low or intermediate mass in a late phase of stellar evolution. The outer atmosphere is inflated and tenuous, making the radius immense and the surface temperature low, somewhere from 5,000 K and lower...
s also coincides with the Wind and Coronal Dividing Lines. To explain the drop in X-ray emission across these dividing lines, a number of models have been proposed:
- low transition region densities, leading to low emission in coronae,
- high-density wind extinction of coronal emission,
- only cool coronal loops become stable,
- changes in a magnetic field structure to that an open topology, leading to a decrease of magnetically confined plasma, or
- changes in the magnetic dynamo character, leading to the disappearance of stellar fields leaving only small-scale, turbulence-generated fields among red giants.
Analytical X-ray astronomy
Analytical X-ray astronomy is applied to an astronomy puzzle in an attempt to provide an acceptable solution. Consider the following puzzle.High-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs) are composed of an OB supergiant companion star and a compact object, usually a neutron star
Neutron star
A neutron star is a type of stellar remnant that can result from the gravitational collapse of a massive star during a Type II, Type Ib or Type Ic supernova event. Such stars are composed almost entirely of neutrons, which are subatomic particles without electrical charge and with a slightly larger...
(NS) or black hole
Black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
(BH). Supergiant X-ray binaries (SGXBs) are HMXBs in which the compact object orbits the massive companion within a few days (3-15 d) in circular (or slightly eccentric) orbits. SGXBs show typical hard X-ray spectra of accreting pulsar
Pulsar
A pulsar is a highly magnetized, rotating neutron star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation. The radiation can only be observed when the beam of emission is pointing towards the Earth. This is called the lighthouse effect and gives rise to the pulsed nature that gives pulsars their name...
s and most show a strong absorption as obscured HMXBs. X-ray luminosity (Lx) increases up to 1036 erg·s−1 (1029 watts).
The mechanism triggering the different temporal behavior observed between the classical SGXBs and the recently discovered supergiant fast X-ray transients (SFXT)s is still debated.
Aim: use the discovery of long orbits (>15 d) to help discriminate between emission models and perhaps bring constraints on the models.
Method: analyze archival data on various SGXBs such as has been obtained by INTEGRAL
INTEGRAL
The European Space Agency's INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory is an operational Earth satellite, launched in 2002 for detecting some of the most energetic radiation that comes from space. It is the most sensitive gamma ray observatory ever launched.INTEGRAL is an ESA mission in...
for candidates exhibiting long orbits. Build short- and long-term light curves. Perform a timing analysis in order to study the temporal behavior of each candidate on different time scales.
Compare various astronomical models:
- direct spherical accretion
- Roche-Lobe overflow via an accretion disk on the compact object.
Draw some conclusions: for example, the SGXB SAX J1818.6-1703 was discovered by BeppoSAX
BeppoSAX
BeppoSAX was an Italian–Dutch satellite for X-ray astronomy which played a crucial role in resolving the origin of gamma-ray bursts , the most energetic events known in the universe...
in 1998, identified as a SGXB of spectral type between O9I−B1I, which also displayed short and bright flares and an unusually very low quiescent level leading to its classification as a SFXT. The analysis indicated an unusually long orbital period: 30.0 ± 0.2 d and an elapsed accretion phase of ~6 d implying an elliptical orbit and possible supergiant spectral type between B0.5-1I with eccentricities e ~ 0.3-0.4. The large variations in the X-ray flux can be explained through accretion of macro-clumps formed within the stellar wind.
Choose which model seems to work best: for SAX J1818.6-1703 the analysis best fits the model that predicts SFXTs behave as SGXBs with different orbital parameters; hence, different temporal behavior.
Stellar X-ray astronomy
Stellar X-ray astronomy is said to have started on April 5, 1974, with the detection of X-rays from CapellaCapella (star)
Capella is the brightest star in the constellation Auriga, the sixth brightest star in the night sky and the third brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere, after Arcturus and Vega. Although it appears to be a single star to the naked eye, it is actually a star system of four stars in...
. A rocket flight on that date briefly calibrated its attitude control system when a star sensor pointed the payload axis at Capella (α Aur). During this period, X-rays in the range 0.2-1.6 keV were detected by an X-ray reflector system co-aligned with the star sensor. The X-ray luminosity of Lx = 1031 erg·s−1 (1024 W) is four orders of magnitude above the Sun's X-ray luminosity.
Eta Carinae
New X-ray observations by the Chandra X-ray ObservatoryChandra X-ray Observatory
The Chandra X-ray Observatory is a satellite launched on STS-93 by NASA on July 23, 1999. It was named in honor of Indian-American physicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar who is known for determining the maximum mass for white dwarfs. "Chandra" also means "moon" or "luminous" in Sanskrit.Chandra...
show three distinct structures: an outer, horseshoe-shaped ring about 2 light years in diameter, a hot inner core about 3 light-months in diameter, and a hot central source less than 1 light-month in diameter which may contain the superstar that drives the whole show. The outer ring provides evidence of another large explosion that occurred over 1,000 years ago. These three structures around Eta Carinae are thought to represent shock waves produced by matter rushing away from the superstar at supersonic speeds. The temperature of the shock-heated gas ranges from 60 MK in the central regions to 3 MK on the horseshoe-shaped outer structure. "The Chandra image contains some puzzles for existing ideas of how a star can produce such hot and intense X-rays," says Prof. Kris Davidson of the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
. Davidson is principal investigator for the Eta Carina observations by the Hubble Space telescope
Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in operation. A 2.4 meter aperture telescope in low Earth orbit, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared...
. "In the most popular theory, X-rays are made by colliding gas streams from two stars so close together that they'd look like a point source to us. But what happens to gas streams that escape to farther distances? The extended hot stuff in the middle of the new image gives demanding new conditions for any theory to meet."
Stellar coronae
Coronal stars, or stars within a coronal cloud, are ubiquitous among the stars in the cool half of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. Experiments with instruments aboard SkylabSkylab
Skylab was a space station launched and operated by NASA, the space agency of the United States. Skylab orbited the Earth from 1973 to 1979, and included a workshop, a solar observatory, and other systems. It was launched unmanned by a modified Saturn V rocket, with a mass of...
and Copernicus have been used to search for soft X-ray emission in the energy range ~0.14-0.284 keV from stellar coronae. The experiments aboard ANS
Astronomical Netherlands Satellite
The Astronomical Netherlands Satellite was a space-based X-ray and ultraviolet telescope. It was launched into Earth orbit on 30 August 1974 at 14:07:39 UTC in a Scout rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, United States...
succeeded in finding X-ray signals from Capella and Sirius (α CMa). X-ray emission from an enhanced solar-like corona was proposed for the first time. The high temperature of Capella's corona as obtained from the first coronal X-ray spectrum of Capella using HEAO 1 required magnetic confinement unless it was a free-flowing coronal wind.
In 1977 Proxima Centauri
Proxima Centauri
Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf star about 4.2 light-years distant in the constellation of Centaurus. It was discovered in 1915 by Robert Innes, the Director of the Union Observatory in South Africa, and is the nearest known star to the Sun, although it is too faint to be seen with the naked eye...
is discovered to be emitting high-energy radiation in the XUV. In 1978, α Cen was identified as a low-activity coronal source. With the operation of the Einstein
Einstein Observatory
Einstein Observatory was the first fully imaging X-ray telescope put into space and the second of NASA's three High Energy Astrophysical Observatories...
observatory, X-ray emission was recognized as a characteristic feature common to a wide range of stars covering essentially the whole Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. The Einstein initial survey led to significant insights:
- X-ray sources abound among all types of stars, across the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and across most stages of evolution,
- the X-ray luminosities and their distribution along the main sequence were not in agreement with the long-favored acoustic heating theories, but were now interpreted as the effect of magnetic coronal heating, and
- stars that are otherwise similar reveal large differences in their X-ray output if their rotation period is different.
To fit the medium-resolution spectrum of UX Ari, subsolar abundances were required.
Stellar X-ray astronomy is contributing toward a deeper understanding of
- magnetic fields in magnetohydrodynamic dynamos,
- the release of energy in tenuous astrophysical plasmas through various plasma-physical processes, and
- the interactions of high-energy radiation with the stellar environment.
Current wisdom has it that the massive coronal main sequence stars are late-A or early F stars, a conjecture that is supported both by observation and by theory.
Unstable winds
Given the lack of a significant outer convection zone, theory predicts the absence of a magnetic dynamo in earlier A stars. In early stars of spectral type O and B, shocks developing in unstable winds are the likely source of X-rays.Coolest M dwarfs
Beyond spectral type M5, the classical αω dynamo can no longer operate as the internal structure of dwarf stars changes significantly: they become fully convective. As a distributed (or α2) dynamo may become relevant, both the magnetic flux on the surface and the topology of the magnetic fields in the corona should systematically change across this transition, perhaps resulting in some discontinuities in the X-raycharacteristics around spectral class dM5. However, observations do not seem to support this picture: long-time lowest-mass X-ray detection, VB 8 (M7e V), has shown steady emission at levels of X-ray luminosity (LX) ≈ 1026 erg·s−1 (1019 W) and flares up to an order of magnitude higher. Comparison with other late M dwarfs shows a rather continuous trend.
Strong X-ray emission from Herbig Ae/Be stars
Herbig Ae/Be stars are pre-main sequence stars. As to their X-ray emission properties, some are- reminiscent of hot stars,
- others point to coronal activity as in cool stars, in particular the presence of flares and very high temperatures.
The nature of these strong emissions has remained controversial with models including
- unstable stellar winds,
- colliding winds,
- magnetic coronae,
- disk coronae,
- wind-fed magnetospheres,
- accretion shocks,
- the operation of a shear dynamo,
- the presence of unknown late-type companions.
K giants
The FK Com stars are giants of spectral type K with an unusually rapid rotation and signs of extreme activity. Their X-ray coronae are among the most luminous (LX ≥ 1032 erg·s−1 or 1025 W) and the hottest known with dominant temperatures up to 40 MK. However, the current popular hypothesis involves a merger of a close binary system in which the orbital angular momentum of the companion is transferred to the primary.Pollux
Pollux (star)
Pollux is an orange giant star approximately 34 light-years from the Earth in the constellation of Gemini . Pollux is the brightest star in the constellation, brighter than Castor...
is the brightest star in the constellation Gemini
Gemini (constellation)
Gemini is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It was one of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. Its name is Latin for "twins", and it is associated with the twins Castor and Pollux in Greek mythology...
, despite its Beta designation, and the 17th brightest in the sky. Pollux is a giant orange K star that makes an interesting color contrast with its white "twin", Castor. Evidence has been found for a hot, outer, magnetically supported corona around Pollux, and the star is known to be an X-ray emitter.
Amateur X-ray astronomy
Collectively, amateur astronomers observe a variety of celestial objects and phenomena sometimes with equipment that they build themselves. The United States Air Force AcademyUnited States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
(USAFA) is the home of the US's only undergraduate satellite program, and has and continues to develop the FalconLaunch sounding rockets. In addition to any direct amateur efforts to put X-ray astronomy payloads into space, there are opportunities that allow student-developed experimental payloads to be put on board commercial sounding rockets as a free-of-charge ride.
There are major limitations to amateurs observing and reporting experiments in X-ray astronomy: the cost of building an amateur rocket or balloon to place a detector high enough and the cost of appropriate parts to build a suitable X-ray detector.
History of X-ray astronomy
In 1927, E.O. Hulburt of the US Naval Research Laboratory and associates Gregory BreitGregory Breit
Gregory Breit was a Russian-born American physicist and professor at universities in New York, Wisconsin, Yale, and Buffalo...
and Merle A. Tuve of the Carnegie Institution of Washington explored the possibility of equipping Robert H. Goddard
Robert H. Goddard
Robert Hutchings Goddard was an American professor, physicist and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world's first liquid-fueled rocket, which he successfully launched on March 16, 1926...
's rockets to explore the upper atmosphere. "Two years later, he proposed an experimental program in which a rocket might be instrumented to explore the upper atmosphere, including detection of ultraviolet radiation and X-rays at high altitudes".
In the late 1930s, the presence of a very hot, tenuous gas surrounding the Sun was inferred indirectly from optical coronal lines of highly ionized species. The Sun has been known to be surrounded by a hot tenuous corona. In the mid-1940s radio observations revealed a radio corona around the Sun.
The beginning of the search for X-ray sources from above the Earth's atmosphere was on August 5, 1948 12:07 GMT. A US Army (formerly German) V-2 rocket
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
as part of Project Hermes
Hermes project
The Hermes project was an United States Army Ordnance Corps rocket program ....
was launched from White Sands Proving Grounds. The first solar X-rays were recorded by T. Burnight.
Through the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, the sensitivity of detectors increased greatly during the 60 years of X-ray astronomy. In addition, the ability to focus X-rays has developed enormously—allowing the production of high-quality images of many fascinating celestial objects.
Major questions in X-ray astronomy
As X-ray astronomy uses a major spectral probe to peer into source, it is a valuable tool in efforts to understand many puzzles.Stellar magnetic fields
Magnetic fields are ubiquitous among stars, yet we do not understand precisely why, nor have we fully understood the bewildering variety of plasma physical mechanisms that act in stellar environments. Some stars, for example, seem to have magnetic fields, fossil stellar magnetic fieldFossil stellar magnetic field
Fossil stellar magnetic fields or fossil fields are proposed as possible interstellar magnetic fields that became locked into certain stars....
s left over from their period of formation, while others seem to generate the field anew frequently.
Extrasolar X-ray source astrometry
With the initial detection of an extrasolar X-ray source, the first question usually asked is "What is the source?" An extensive search is often made in other wavelengths such as visible or radio for possible coincident objects. Many of the verified X-ray locations still do not have readily discernible sources. X-ray astrometryAstrometry
Astrometry is the branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other celestial bodies. The information obtained by astrometric measurements provides information on the kinematics and physical origin of our Solar System and our Galaxy, the Milky...
becomes a serious concern that results in ever greater demands for finer angular resolution
Angular resolution
Angular resolution, or spatial resolution, describes the ability of any image-forming device such as an optical or radio telescope, a microscope, a camera, or an eye, to distinguish small details of an object...
and spectral radiance
Radiance
Radiance and spectral radiance are radiometric measures that describe the amount of radiation such as light or radiant heat that passes through or is emitted from a particular area, and falls within a given solid angle in a specified direction. They are used to characterize both emission from...
.
There are inherent difficulties in making X-ray/optical, X-ray/radio, and X-ray/X-ray identifications based solely on positional coincidents, especially with handicaps in making identifications, such as the large uncertainties in positional determinants made from balloons and rockets, poor source separation in the crowded region toward the galactic center, source variability, and the multiplicity of source nomenclature.
X‐ray source counterparts to stars can be identified by calculating the angular separation between source centroids and position of the star. The maximum allowable separation is a compromise between a larger value to identify as many real matches as possible and a smaller value to minimize the probability of spurious matches. "An adopted matching criterion of 40" finds nearly all possible X‐ray source matches while keeping the probability of any spurious matches in the sample to 3%."
Solar X-ray astronomy
All of the detected X-ray sources at, around, or near the SunSun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
are within or associated with the coronal cloud which is its outer atmosphere.
Coronal heating problem
In the area of solar X-ray astronomy, there is the coronal heating problem. The photospherePhotosphere
The photosphere of an astronomical object is the region from which externally received light originates. The term itself is derived from Ancient Greek roots, φῶς, φωτός/phos, photos meaning "light" and σφαῖρα/sphaira meaning "sphere", in reference to the fact that it is a spheric surface perceived...
of the Sun has an effective temperature of 5,570 K yet its corona has an average temperature of 1-2 × 106 K. However, the hottest regions are 8-20 × 106 K. The high temperature of the corona shows that it is heated by something other than direct heat conduction
Heat conduction
In heat transfer, conduction is a mode of transfer of energy within and between bodies of matter, due to a temperature gradient. Conduction means collisional and diffusive transfer of kinetic energy of particles of ponderable matter . Conduction takes place in all forms of ponderable matter, viz....
from the photosphere.
It is thought that the energy necessary to heat the corona is provided by turbulent motion in the convection zone below the photosphere, and two main mechanisms have been proposed to explain coronal heating. The first is wave
Wave
In physics, a wave is a disturbance that travels through space and time, accompanied by the transfer of energy.Waves travel and the wave motion transfers energy from one point to another, often with no permanent displacement of the particles of the medium—that is, with little or no associated mass...
heating, in which sound, gravitational or magnetohydrodynamic waves are produced by turbulence in the convection zone. These waves travel upward and dissipate in the corona, depositing their energy in the ambient gas in the form of heat. The other is magnetic
Magnetic field
A magnetic field is a mathematical description of the magnetic influence of electric currents and magnetic materials. The magnetic field at any given point is specified by both a direction and a magnitude ; as such it is a vector field.Technically, a magnetic field is a pseudo vector;...
heating, in which magnetic energy is continuously built up by photospheric motion and released through magnetic reconnection
Magnetic reconnection
Magnetic reconnection is a physical process in highly conducting plasmas in which the magnetic topology is rearranged and magnetic energy is converted to kinetic energy, thermal energy, and particle acceleration...
in the form of large solar flare
Solar flare
A solar flare is a sudden brightening observed over the Sun surface or the solar limb, which is interpreted as a large energy release of up to 6 × 1025 joules of energy . The flare ejects clouds of electrons, ions, and atoms through the corona into space. These clouds typically reach Earth a day...
s and myriad similar but smaller events—nanoflares
Nanoflares
A nanoflare is a very small solar flare which happens in the corona, the external atmosphere of the Sun.The hypothesis of "microflares" as a possible explanation of the coronal heating was first suggested by Gold and then later developed by Eugene Parker....
.
Currently, it is unclear whether waves are an efficient heating mechanism. All waves except Alfvén wave
Alfvén wave
An Alfvén wave, named after Hannes Alfvén, is a type of magnetohydrodynamic wave.-Definition:An Alfvén wave in a plasma is a low-frequency travelling oscillation of the ions and the magnetic field...
s have been found to dissipate or refract before reaching the corona. In addition, Alfvén waves do not easily dissipate in the corona. Current research focus has therefore shifted towards flare heating mechanisms.
Coronal mass ejection
A coronal mass ejectionCoronal mass ejection
A coronal mass ejection is a massive burst of solar wind, other light isotope plasma, and magnetic fields rising above the solar corona or being released into space....
(CME) is an ejected plasma consisting primarily of electrons and proton
Proton
The proton is a subatomic particle with the symbol or and a positive electric charge of 1 elementary charge. One or more protons are present in the nucleus of each atom, along with neutrons. The number of protons in each atom is its atomic number....
s (in addition to small quantities of heavier elements such as helium, oxygen, and iron), plus the entraining coronal closed magnetic field regions. Evolution of these closed magnetic structures in response to various photospheric motions over different time scales (convection, differential rotation, meridional circulation) somehow leads to the CME. Small-scale energetic signatures such as plasma heating (observed as compact soft X-ray brightening) may be indicative of impending CMEs.
The soft X-ray sigmoid (an S-shaped intensity of soft X-rays) is an observational manifestation of the connection between coronal structure and CME production. "Relating the sigmoids at X-ray (and other) wavelengths to magnetic structures and current systems in the solar atmosphere is the key to understanding their relationship to CMEs."
The first detection of a Coronal mass ejection (CME) as such was made on December 1, 1971 by R. Tousey of the US Naval Research Laboratory using OSO 7
OSO 7
OSO 7 is the seventh in the series of American Orbiting Solar Observatory satellites launched by NASA between 1962 and 1975...
. Earlier observations of coronal transients or even phenomena observed visually during solar eclipses are now understood as essentially the same thing.
The largest geomagnetic perturbation, resulting presumably from a "prehistoric" CME, coincided with the first-observed solar flare, in 1859. The flare was observed visually by Richard Christopher Carrington
Richard Christopher Carrington
Richard Christopher Carrington was an English amateur astronomer whose 1859 astronomical observations demonstrated the existence of solar flares as well as suggesting their electrical influence upon the Earth and its aurorae; and whose 1863 records of sunspot observations revealed the differential...
and the geomagnetic storm
Geomagnetic storm
A geomagnetic storm is a temporary disturbance of the Earth's magnetosphere caused by a disturbance in the interplanetary medium. A geomagnetic storm is a major component of space weather and provides the input for many other components of space weather...
was observed with the recording magnetograph at Kew Gardens. The same instrument recorded a crotchet, an instantaneous perturbation of the Earth's ionosphere by ionizing soft X-rays. This could not easily be understood at the time because it predated the discovery of X-rays (by Roentgen) and the recognition of the ionosphere
Ionosphere
The ionosphere is a part of the upper atmosphere, comprising portions of the mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere, distinguished because it is ionized by solar radiation. It plays an important part in atmospheric electricity and forms the inner edge of the magnetosphere...
(by Kennelly
Arthur Edwin Kennelly
Arthur Edwin Kennelly , was an Irish-American electrical engineer.-Biography:Kennelly was born December 17, 1861 in Colaba, in South Mumbai, India and was educated at University College School in London. He was the son of an Irish naval officer Captain David Joseph Kennelly and Catherine Gibson...
and Heaviside).
Exotic X-ray sources
A microquasar is a smaller cousin of a quasarQuasar
A quasi-stellar radio source is a very energetic and distant active galactic nucleus. Quasars are extremely luminous and were first identified as being high redshift sources of electromagnetic energy, including radio waves and visible light, that were point-like, similar to stars, rather than...
that is a radio emitting X-ray binary
X-ray binary
X-ray binaries are a class of binary stars that are luminous in X-rays.The X-rays are produced by matter falling from one component, called the donor to the other component, called the accretor, which is compact: a white dwarf, neutron star, or black hole.The infalling matter releases...
, with an often resolvable pair of radio jets.
LSI+61°303
LS I +61 303
LS I +61 303 is a binary system harboring a compact object and a massive star that emits HE and VHE gamma rays. It is only one of three known star systems that produce such energetic rays...
is a periodic, radio-emitting binary system that is also the gamma-ray source, CG135+01.
Observations are revealing a growing number of recurrent X-ray transient
X-ray transient
X-ray emission occurs from many celestial objects. These emissions can have a pattern, occur intermittently, or as a transient astronomical event. In X-ray astronomy many sources have been discovered by placing an X-ray detector above the Earth's atmosphere. Often, the first X-ray source discovered...
s, characterized by short outbursts with very fast rise times (tens of minutes) and typical durations of a few hours that are associated with OB supergiant
Supergiant
Supergiants are among the most massive stars. They occupy the top region of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. In the Yerkes spectral classification, supergiants are class Ia or Ib . They typically have bolometric absolute magnitudes between -5 and -12...
s and hence define a new class of massive X-ray binaries: Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients (SFXTs).
Observations made by Chandra
Chandra X-ray Observatory
The Chandra X-ray Observatory is a satellite launched on STS-93 by NASA on July 23, 1999. It was named in honor of Indian-American physicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar who is known for determining the maximum mass for white dwarfs. "Chandra" also means "moon" or "luminous" in Sanskrit.Chandra...
indicate the presence of loops and rings in the hot X-ray emitting gas that surrounds Messier 87
Messier 87
Messier 87 is a supergiant elliptical galaxy. It was discovered in 1781 by the French astronomer Charles Messier, who cataloged it as a nebulous feature. The second brightest galaxy within the northern Virgo Cluster, it is located about 16.4 million parsecs from Earth...
. A magnetar
Magnetar
A magnetar is a type of neutron star with an extremely powerful magnetic field, the decay of which powers the emission of copious high-energy electromagnetic radiation, particularly X-rays and gamma rays...
is a type of neutron star with an extremely powerful magnetic field, the decay of which powers the emission of copious amounts of high-energy electromagnetic radiation, particularly X-rays and gamma ray
Gamma ray
Gamma radiation, also known as gamma rays or hyphenated as gamma-rays and denoted as γ, is electromagnetic radiation of high frequency . Gamma rays are usually naturally produced on Earth by decay of high energy states in atomic nuclei...
s.
X-ray dark stars
During the solar cycle, as shown in the sequence of images at right, at times the Sun is almost X-ray dark, almost an X-ray variable. BetelgeuseBetelgeuse
Betelgeuse, also known by its Bayer designation Alpha Orionis , is the eighth brightest star in the night sky and second brightest star in the constellation of Orion, outshining its neighbour Rigel only rarely...
, on the other hand, appears to be always X-ray dark. Hardly any X-rays are emitted by red giants. There is a rather abrupt onset of X-ray emission around spectral type A7-F0, with a large range of luminosities developing across spectral class F. Altair is spectral type A7V and Vega is A0V. Altair's total X-ray luminosity is at least an order of magnitude larger than the X-ray luminosity for Vega. The outer convection zone of early F stars is expected to be very shallow and absent in A-type dwarfs, yet the acoustic flux from the interior reaches a maximum for late A and early F stars provoking investigations of magnetic activity in A-type stars along three principal lines. Chemically peculiar stars of spectral type Bp or Ap are appreciable magnetic radio sources, most Bp/Ap stars remain undetected, and of those reported early on as producing X-rays only few of them can be identified as probably single stars. X-ray observations offer the possibility to detect (X-ray dark) planets as they eclipse part of the corona of their parent star while in transit. "Such methods are particularly promising for low-mass stars as a Jupiter-like planet could eclipse a rather significant coronal area."
X-ray dark planet/comet
X-ray observations offer the possibility to detect (X-ray dark) planets as they eclipse part of the corona of their parent star while in transit. "Such methods are particularly promising for low-mass stars as a Jupiter-like planet could eclipse a rather significant coronal area."As X-ray detectors have become more sensitive, they have observed that some planets and other normally X-ray non-luminescent celestial objects under certain conditions emit, fluoresce, or reflect X-rays.
Comet Lulin
NASA's Swift Gamma-ray Explorer satellite was monitoring Comet LulinComet Lulin
Comet Lulin is a non-periodic comet. It was discovered by Ye Quanzhi and Lin Chi-Sheng from Lulin Observatory. It peaked in brightness and arrived at perigee for observers on Earth on February 24, 2009, at magnitude +5, and at 0.411 AU from Earth...
as it closed to 63 Gm of Earth. For the first time, astronomers can see simultaneous UV and X-ray images of a comet. "The solar wind—a fast-moving stream of particles from the sun—interacts with the comet's broader cloud of atoms. This causes the solar wind to light up with X-rays, and that's what Swift's XRT sees", said Stefan Immler, of the Goddard Space Flight Center. This interaction, called charge exchange, results in X-rays from most comets when they pass within about three times Earth's distance from the Sun. Because Lulin is so active, its atomic cloud is especially dense. As a result, the X-ray-emitting region extends far sunward of the comet.
Single X-ray stars
In addition to the Sun there are many unary stars or star systems throughout the galaxy that emit X-rays. β HydriBeta Hydri
Beta Hydri is a star in the constellation Hydrus. It is about 24.4 light years away from Earth. It is larger and slightly more massive than the Sun....
(G2 IV) is a normal single, post main-sequence subgiant star, Teff = 5800 K. It exhibits coronal X-ray fluxes.
The benefit of studying single stars is that it allows measurements free of any effects of a companion or being a part of a multiple star system. Theories or models can be more readily tested. See, e.g., Betelgeuse, Red giants, and Vega and Altair.
See also
- Auroral X-rays
- Balloons for X-ray astronomy
- Gamma-ray astronomyGamma-ray astronomyGamma-ray astronomy is the astronomical study of the cosmos with gamma rays. Gamma-rays are the most energetic form of "light" that travel across the universe, and gamma-rays thus have the smallest wavelength of any wave in the electromagnetic spectrum.Gamma-rays are created by celestial events...
- History of X-ray astronomyHistory of X-ray astronomyHistory of X-ray astronomy begins in the 1920's with interest in short wave communications for the U.S. Navy. This led to the study of the ionosphere. By 1927 interest in going beyond studies with short waves led to developing theories pertaining to putting Goddard's rockets into the upper...
- Solar X-ray astronomy
- Sounding rocket X-ray astronomy
- Stellar surface fusion
- Stellar X-ray astronomy
- Ultraviolet astronomy
- Visibly dark X-ray source
- X-1 X-ray source
- X-ray generation
- X-rays from Eridanus
- X-ray telescopeX-ray telescopeAn X-ray telescope is a telescope that is designed to observe remote objects in the X-ray spectrum. In order to get above the Earth's atmosphere, which is opaque to X-rays, X-ray telescopes must be mounted on high altitude rockets or artificial satellites.-Optical design:X-ray telescopes can use...
X-Ray telescope articles
Sources
- The content of this article was adapted and expanded from http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/ (Public Domain)
External links
- How Many Known X-Ray (and Other) Sources Are There?
- Is My Favorite Object an X-ray, Gamma-Ray, or EUV Source?
- X-ray all-sky survey on WIKISKY
- Audio - Cain/Gay (2009) Astronomy Cast - X-Ray Astronomy