Rosat and the X-ray universe
A major new satellite (Rosat) promises to provide astronomers with a map of perhaps 100,000 beacons in the X-ray sky, fresh images of high-energy objects approaching the resolution of visible-light photographs, and a first-ever survey of the sky at extreme-ultraviolet wavelengths. The German and British governments along with NASA are participating in this program. The grazing incidence technique previously used by Einstein and other missions is used to bring the X-rays to a focus and thus to create images. The X-ray telescope is equipped with three instruments, though only one can occupy the focus at any given time. Two are redundant detectors called position-sensitive proportional counters. The whole-sky survey will yield a complete X-ray image of the celestial sphere with 1/2-arc-minute detail of sources large and small, not just crude scans by wide-angle sensors.
- OSTI ID:
- 6578607
- Journal Information:
- Sky and Telescope; (USA), Vol. 80; ISSN 0037-6604
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
GENERAL PHYSICS
ASTRONOMY
X RADIATION
COSMIC X-RAY SOURCES
EXTREME ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
MEASURING METHODS
PROPORTIONAL COUNTERS
SATELLITES
COOPERATION
COSMIC RAY SOURCES
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
IONIZING RADIATIONS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
RADIATION DETECTORS
RADIATIONS
ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION
640100* - Astrophysics & Cosmology