Latest XMM-Newton Stories

ESA's orbiting X-ray observatory XMM-Newton has been used by a team of international astronomers to uncover part of the missing matter in the universe. 10 years ago, scientists predicted that about half of the missing "˜ordinary' or normal matter made of atoms exists in the form of low-density gas, filling vast spaces between galaxies.All the matter in the universe is distributed in a web-like structure. At dense nodes of the cosmic web are clusters of galaxies, the largest objects in the...

XMM-Newton has been surprised by a rare type of galaxy, from which it has detected a higher number of X-rays than thought possible. The observation gives new insight into the powerful processes shaping galaxies during their formation and evolution. Scientists working with XMM-Newton were looking into the furthest reaches of the universe, at celestial objects called quasars. These are vast cosmic engines that pump energy into their surroundings. It is thought an enormous black hole drives...

Astronomers have made the best ever determination of the power of a supernova explosion that was visible from Earth long ago. By observing the remnant of a supernova and a light echo from the initial outburst, they have established the validity of a powerful new method for studying supernovas.Using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, ESA's XMM-Newton Observatory, and the Gemini Observatory, two teams of researchers studied the supernova remnant and its light echo, located in the Large...

XMM-Newton has detected periodic X-ray emission, or the pulsed heartbeat of a weird new type of star. Collecting the X-rays from the so-called rotating radio transient has confirmed the nature of the underlying celestial object and given astronomers a new insight into these exotic objects.The observations were made using XMM-Newton's European Photon Imaging Camera (EPIC), which targeted the celestial object RRAT J1819"“1458. Astronomers observed the object for around 12 hours and detected...

Using observations from ESO's VLT, astronomers were able for the first time to reconstruct the site of a flare on a solar-like star located 150 light years away. The study of this young star, nicknamed 'Speedy Mic' because of its fast rotation, will help scientists better understand the youth of our Sun.The astronomers [1] observed the star BO Microscopii [2] during two consecutive nights in October 2006, simultaneously with the UVES spectrograph on ESO's Very Large Telescope and ESA's...

Astronomers working with XMM-Newton have discovered a new cluster of galaxies, hidden behind a previously identified cluster of galaxies. The recently exposed cosmic giant is apparently just as bright as the first group, but is six times further away.The discovery was made by an international team using ESA's orbiting X-ray observatory. Being fooled by a cosmic giant is no laughing matter for an astronomer. For years, astronomers racked their brains over the relation between two regions...

The largest catalogue of X-ray sources ever has now been released. The catalogue, '2XMM', has been compiled from observations carried out with ESA's XMM-Newton space observatory over six years of operation.The 2XMM Serendipitous Source Catalogue is the result of several years of development by the XMM-Newton Survey Science Centre (SSC), a consortium of institutes spread across Europe, on behalf of ESA.In the study of energetic phenomena in the Universe, ranging from nearby comets to the most...

Astronomers using XMM-Newton and Suzaku have seen Einstein's predicted distortion of space-time and pioneered a ground-breaking technique for determining the properties of neutron stars.ESA's XMM-Newton and the JAXA/NASA Suzaku X-ray observatories have been used to see the distortion of space-time around three neutron stars. These objects contain the densest observable matter in the Universe.Neutron stars cram more than a Sun's worth of material into a city-sized sphere. This means that a cup...

The orbiting X-ray telescopes XXM-Newton and Chandra have caught a pair of galaxy clusters merging into a giant cluster. The discovery adds to existing evidence that galaxy clusters can collide faster than previously thought.When individual galaxies collide and spiral into one another, they discard trails of hot gas that stretch across space, providing signposts to the mayhem. Recognising the signs of collisions between whole clusters of galaxies, however, is not as easy. Undaunted, Renato...

XMM-Newton has surveyed nearly two hundred stars under formation to reveal, contrary to expectations, how streams of matter fall onto the young stars' magnetic atmospheres and radiate X-rays.The results defy astronomers' expectations, as the streams of falling matter interact with the hot corona, cooling it, while the ejected streams of gas heat up in shocks as they are ejected from the star. The new XMM-Newton results paint a dramatic picture of the role magnetic fields play in star...