HEADNEWS: THE ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER OF THE
HIGH ENERGY ASTROPHYSICS DIVISION OF THE AAS
|
Newsletter No. 86, May 2005 |
- Notes from the Editor - Christine Jones
- 2005 Bruno Rossi Prize Winner -
Christopher Wanjek and Ilana Harrus
- HEAD in the News - Ilana Harrus,
Christopher Wanjek and Megan Watzke
- Chandra Fellows Named - Nancy Evans
- XMM-Newton Mission News - Stefan Immler
and Phil Plait
- RHESSI Mission News - David Smith
- Swift Mission News - Christopher Wanjek,
Phil Plait and Lynn Cominsky
- GLAST Mission News - Christopher Wanjek,
Phil Plait and Lynn Cominsky
- HETE Mission News - George Ricker
- RXTE News - Padi Boyd, Jean Swank, Craig
Markwardt, Tod Strohmayer
- Chandra X-ray Observatory Operations Report - Roger Brissenden and Martin Weisskopf
- Astro-E2 Mission News - Richard Kelley
- A NEW Newsletter -- The Gravitational Lens - Michelle B. Larson
- Meeting Announcements:
- Pulsar Timing Array -- A Nanohertz Gravitational Wave Telescope (21-23 July 2005, Penn State)
- Six Years of Science with Chandra
(2-4 November 2005, Cambridge, MA)
- Star Formation in the Era of Three Great
Observatories (13-15 July, 2005, Cambridge, MA)
- 4th International X-ray Astronomy School (15-19 August, 2005, Cambridge, MA)
- The X-ray Universe 2005 (26-30 2005,
Madrid, Spain)
from the Editor - Christine Jones, HEAD Secretary-Treasurer,
headsec@aas.org, 617-495-7137
HEAD only delivers the table-of-contents for HEADNEWS into your mailbox.
The newsletter itself can be found online at
http://www.aas.org/head/headnews/headnews.may05.html.
Thanks first to Matthew Baring for the outstanding job he did
as HEAD Secretary-Treasurer since 2001.
The next HEAD Division meeting is to be held in San Fransisco from
Wednesday October 4 through Saturday October 7, 2006. It's still a
long way off, but please mark your calendars!
This spring brought news from NASA Headquarters that the call for
proposals for the LTSA and ADP programs were being cancelled and that the
budgets for several current space missions were being reduced. You should all
have received an e-mail from Roger Blandford, HEAD President, about this. If you
did not receive an e-mail and would like one, please let me know.
Finally congratulations to HEAD President Roger Blandford and HEAD
members Harvey Tananbaum, Wallace Sargent and Jocelyn Bell Burnell on
their election to the National Academy of Sciences.
Back to Top
2. 2005 Bruno Rossi Prize Winner - Christopher Wanjek (EUD
Science Writer) & Ilana Harrus (HEAD press officer)
Prof. Stan Woosley of University of California at Santa Cruz has won
this year's Bruno Rossi Prize for his pioneering work on star
explosions, including gamma-ray bursts. The prize is awarded each
year by the High Energy Astrophysics Division (HEAD) of the American
Astronomical Society (AAS).
Prof. Woosley's research focuses on theoretical astrophysics. He is
being recognized by HEAD-AAS for his detailed modeling of star
explosions called supernovae, in which he describes how "heavy"
elements needed for life such as oxygen and iron are forged and
ejected. In addition, Prof. Woosley's "collapsar" model of massive
star explosions has recently been identified as the central engine of
some gamma-ray bursts, a major breakthrough in this field.
"There's something terribly attractive about a titanic explosion, as
long as it occurs far enough away," said Prof. Woosley. "To think
that the same explosions that make black holes and neutron stars are
also creating the elements of life still continues to amaze me. I am
honored to receive the Rossi Prize for what has been such rewarding
work with so many bright students and colleagues."
The HEAD-AAS awards the Rossi Prize in recognition of significant
contributions as well as recent and original work in High Energy
Astrophysics. The prize is in honor of Professor Bruno Rossi, an
authority on cosmic-ray physics and a pioneer in the field of X-ray
astronomy. The prize also includes an engraved certificate and a
$1,500 award.
Prof. Woosley was recently awarded the American Physical Society's
2005 Hans Bethe Prize, which recognizes outstanding work in the area
of astrophysics, nuclear physics and related fields. He received the
"Outstanding Faculty Award" from the Division of Physical and
Biological Sciences at UCSC in 2003-04. He was elected to the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001 and as a fellow of the
American Physical Society in 1987.
Prof. Woosley is a co-investigator on the HETE-II collaboration, a
NASA mission devoted to the study of gamma-ray bursts that was
launched in 2000. He is also the director of the Center of Supernova
Research at the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC). He
has published more than 300 papers.
To view a computer simulation of a gamma-ray burst, refer to
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2003/0618rosettaburst.html
Back to Top
3. HEAD in the News
- Ilana Harrus, HEAD Press Officer,
Christopher Wanjek, Structure and Evolution of the Universe
Senior Science Writer, and Megan Watzke, Chandra Press Officer
Summer and movie season are upon us. Soon, all the news about cosmic
radiation will involve its ability to unleash the superhuman powers of
the "Fantastic Four". (Do not confuse with the "Fab Four", hydrogen,
carbon, oxygen and nitrogen - which is your favorite?) In the mean
time, the coverage of high-energy astrophysics was energized with the
launch of Swift and subsequent gamma-ray burst announcements.
Major items in the News:
The SGR 1806 flare of December 27, 2004 was a whopper, the brightest
flash of light ever detected from beyond the solar system. Swift and
many other observatories -- RHESSI, VLA, VLBA, Parkes, MOST, MERLIN,
ATCA, WSRT and Greenbank -- documented the flare and confirmed this
was a massive eruption from the surface of a magnetar. The results
and analysis attracted major news coverage, including television,
radio, the New York Times, AP, Reuters and BBC. This is still, in
fact, the biggest 2005 HEAD story.
Several Chandra results got very wide coverage. One story that
attracted the attention of the press was the announcement of the "Most
Powerful Eruption in the Universe Discovered". This story, on the
cluster of galaxies MS0735.6+7421, announced at the AAS meeting in
San Diego, was picked up by the wires agency (UPI, Agence France
Press). The press also covered the story with USA Today (the most read
paper in America) , the New York Times, Washington Post, New York
Post,
Baltimore Sun, Columbus Dispatch, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Houston
Chronicle, Daily Press (Newport News, VA), Sun-Sentinel (Fort
Lauderdale, FL), The Oregonian, Deseret Morning News, Science News,
Montreal Gazette, Ottawa Citizen, Herald Sun (Australia), Financial
Times (UK), NPR, TV stations (The Today Show (NBC), CBC News
(Canada)). TV coverage also included about 20 stories on local
affiliates (mainly NBC, but also UPN and Fox) across the country. The
story was also present on many websites including CNN.com, MSNBC.com,
Scientific American.com, Discovery Channel.com, SpaceFlight Now, Yahoo
News & Independent Online (South Africa).
Another story, reported in the mainstream media, was the
Chandra result on missing matter, released on February 2, 2005. This
result, based on the detection of diffuse hot gas in the intergalactic
medium,
was reported in the New York Times, NPR (Science Friday), Science,
MSNBC.com, Times of India, Space.com, Reuters, ABC Science Online
(Australia), Scientific American.com, CBC News (Canada), Spaceflight
Now, Universe Today, & Xinhua General News Service (China).
Chandra made the news again with the more recent story on the COUP
project (Orion). This result was released to the press on May 10 via a
media telecon, a relatively new and effective format of a phone-in
press conference now being supported by NASA. The story was covered
by Associated Press, Reuters (both wire stories were posted on many
newspaper websites both in the US and internationally), UPI, Science,
Voice of America, Christian Science Monitor, Houston Chronicle,
Washington Times, New Scientist, Space.com, Discovery Channel.com,
Scientific American.com, Australian, People's Daily Online,
ABCNews.com, MSNBC.com, Xinhua (China), PhysOrg.com, Earthtimes.org,
Astrobiology Magazine, News24 (South Africa), Taipei Times (Taiwan),
CNN.com.
XMM-Newton had several recent media hits. The biggest one
concerned the detection of variable emission coming from material
orbiting a supermassive black hole. This result, combined with an
RXTE result, made USA Today and a multitude of magazines and web
sites.
And last but not least, the latest announcement from SWIFT of their
detection of a short burst and the possible detection of a neutron
star or black hole merger is only now gathering momentum for news
coverage. The story made the Los Angeles Times, New Scientist, Contra
Costa Times, AP, Science, Science News, Space.com (and thus MSNBC and
CNN), Nature, The Guardian, BBC and the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. The
result also appeared in the scientific blogosphere with mention in
blogs like the "Dynamics of Cats" or "The Preposterous Universe".
We also note:
Universe Today (May 4, 2005): Article on HESS
http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/hess_observations.html?452005
Nature.com, PhysOrg.com (April 28, 2005) & APOD (May 5, 2005): Reports
on the binary system Omicron Ceti (Mira A & B)
NewScientist.com (April 26, 2005) & Science Now (April 27, 2005): Hot
spots on a neutron star tracked with XMM-Newton
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7307
Winnipeg Free Press, Space.com, Spaceflight Now (April 19, 2005) &
APOD (April 21, 2005): Report on the definitive detection of a shell
in the SNR G21.5-0.9
Independent Record (April 16, 2005): Cosmic Rays study with MEROPE
http://www.helenair.com/articles/2005/04/16/top/a01041605_01.txt
BBC News (April 8, 2005): Article on Chandra and XMM-Newton study of
NGC 6482 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4423651.stm
Washington Times (April 8, 2005): Gamma-ray bursts and the death
treats they pose. Linked to Swift
http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/20050407-085940-2055r.htm
Astronomy, (April 7, 2005), New Scientist, Universe Today, Kerala
India Times (April 8, 2005) & Scientific American & Washington Times
(April 11, 2005): XMM-Newton result on emission near the Milky Way
center
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7250
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa007&articleID=000E5C51-0C88-1257-8C8883414B7F0000
http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20050410-090823-7452r.htm
SpaceFlight Now & Astronomy Magazine (April 7, 2005) & BBC News (April
8, 2005), Washington Times (April 13, 2005): XMM-Newton results on
clusters of Galaxies
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0504/07merging/
http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/20050412-112436-9597r.htm
Space.com, BBC News.com, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Cambridge Evening
News (UK), National Geographic.com, International Reporter (India),
Cordis News (EU), Centre Daily Times (PA), PhysOrg.com, Universe
Today, & Spaceflight Now (April 2005): Coverage on a Chandra and
Submillimeter wavelength results that points to a phenomenal spurt of
growth for some galaxies and their central black hole
Kansas City InfoZine (April 7, 2005): Mass extinction on Earth may
have been triggered by a gamma-ray burst
http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/6944/
SpaceRef.com (April 7, 2005): Article on distribution of dark matter
using XMM-Newton
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=16562
New Scientist (April 6, 2005), BBC News & Universe Today (April 5,
2005): Coverage of latest result from SWIFT (first optical afterglow
measured)
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7237
Michigan Daily (April 5, 2005): An article on ULX and their
interpretation as intermediate mass black holes
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/03/050323132144.htm
Science Daily (March 26, 2005): An article on studying Intermediate
Mass Black Holes with XMM-Newton and Chandra
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/03/050323132144.htm
New Scientist (March 25, 2005): Article on the contribution of HESS to
gamma-ray astronomy
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7199
SpaceRef.com & Space.com (March 25, 2005): Image of the Earth in
gamma-ray
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=16492
EurekAlert,Washington Times, Science Daily, Spaceflight Now,
Innovations Report, Universe Today, Central Chronicle (India), Express
Newsline (India), People's Daily Online (China), Xinhua (China),
Economic Times (India), (March 22, 2005) & APOD (March 30, 2005):
Intermediate mass black holes
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-03/cxc-xsp032205.php
SpaceFlight Now (March 17, 2005): A mature Universe in
childhood. Evolved clusters at a high redshift
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0503/20distant/
New Scientist (March 16, 2005): A list of 13 scientific results that
are still puzzling. High-Energy Cosmic rays are one. Dark matter and
dark energy also make the list
Michigan Daily (March 15, 2005): Using XMM-Newton database to identify
distant clusters
http://www.michigandaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/03/15/4236d2a266179
CERN Courier (March 2005): Astrowatch article on locating the missing
baryons using Chandra data
Space.com, PhysOrg.com, Innovations Report, Astrobiology Magazine,
Spaceflight Now, Universe Today (March 2005): Coverage of Chandra
result on Auroras on Jupiter
(The monitoring system was down from February 15 to March 15)
Yahoo News, Science News, Universe Today, RedNova.com, Innovations
Report, PhysOrg.com (February 15, 2005): Result on black holes
evolution
Universe Today (February 14, 2005): Report on the first GRB pinpointed
by SWIFT
http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/swift_first_burst.html?1422005
PhysOrg.com (February 8, 2005): A report on IceCube a neutrino
telescope in Antarctica
http://www.physorg.com/news2978.html
Astrobiology Magazine (February 3, 2005): Cite Swift's launch in their
top 10 astronomy news of the year 2004
http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1426&mode=thread&order=0\
&thold=0
ScienceWise (February 2, 2005): Wire report on missing baryon study
using Chandra observatory
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/509589/
Innovations Report (February 2, 2005): Report on the UVOT on SWIFT
http://www.innovations-report.de/html/berichte/physik_astronomie/bericht-39700.html
New Scientist (January 31, 2005): Article on the CREAM mission and its
record flight around the Antarct\
ic
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6945
SpaceRef (January 27, 2005): Magnetars and their interpretation
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=16011
Science Magazine (January 27, 2005): Article on the search for
Intermediate-Mass black holes
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/307/5709/533
Universe Today (January 27, 2005) , All American Patriot (January 28,
2005) & Science Magazine (February 4, 2005): Report on the selection
of the IBEX mission as part of the SMEX program
http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/ibex_chosen.html?2712005
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/307/5710/653a
New Scientist (January 27, 2005) & New Scientist (February 5, 2005):
Article on Integral results on Sagitarius B2
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6937
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/space/mg18524854.000
Astronomy Magazine (January 25, 2005): Report on the first GRB seen by
Swift
SpaceRef.com (January 21, 2005): Report on the Rossi Prize won by
Dr. Woosley
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=15966
CNN International (January 18, 2005): An article on jets of matter
traveling at 99.9% of the speed of light
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/01/18/universe.speed/
EurekAlert (January 12, 2005), Science Magazine & Astronomy Magazine
(January 27, 2005): First identification and study of a source of
ultra-high energy cosmic rays
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-01/nyu-npi011005.php
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/307/5709/509a
USA Today, Science News, Sky & Telescope, Space.com, ScienceDaily,
Spaceflight Now (January 12, 2005), APOD (January 28, 2005) & Cern
Courier (January-February 2005): Article on the detection of 10,000
black holes at the center of the Milkyway
PhysOrg.com, MSNBC, TheRegister (UK), RedNova (TX), PhysWeb.org, &
News24 (South Africa) (January 10. 2005): Article on tracking material
around a black hole
http://www.physorg.com/news2626.html
SpaceRef.com (January 5, 2005), Centre Daily Times (January 6, 2005) &
New Scientist (January 7, 2005): Article on Swift first light and
release of Cas A image
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=15815
Washington Times (December 30, 2004): An article on politics and
science with a reference to the mock election held at the HEAD meeting
in Hawaii in 2000
http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/20041228-110907-4950r.htm
EurekAlert (December 17, 2004): Launch of a NASA balloon, CREAM,
devoted to Cosmic Rays studies
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-12/indf-sbl121704.php
EurekAlert, Science Daily, RedNova.com, Universe Today, Spaceflight
Now (December 14, 2004), ScienceBlog (December 20, 2004) & APOD
(December 23. 2004): Press release of a Chandra analysis of the young
pulsar in 3C58
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-12/cxc-gte121304.php
http://www.scienceblog.com/community/article4981.html
Innovations-Report (December 14, 2004): An article on a new
high-energy gamma-ray source
http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/physics_astronomy/report-37765.html
Cern Courier (December 2004): HST/Chandra image of Kepler SNR is
picture of the month
Space.com, PhysOrg.com, Space News, CNN.com, Spaceflight Now, Science
Daily, RedNova.com & The Register (November 22, 2004): Article on an
XMM-Newton & Chandra result on the birth of super massive black holes
http://space.com/scienceastronomy/blackhole_quick_041122.html
List of the press/image releases linked to HEAD
Please see:
http://universe.nasa.gov/press/2005/
and
http://universe.nasa.gov/press/2004/
for press releases issued in 2004 and 2005 on subjects linked to the
Structure & Evolution
of the Universe. There is a large overlap with what is presented
below.
May 11, 2005
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/press/pr0513.html
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2005/short_burst.html
May 10, 2005
http://chandra.harvard.edu/press/05_releases/press_051005.html
April 28, 2005
http://chandra.harvard.edu/press/05_releases/press_042805.html
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/news/releases/2005/05-059.html
April 19, 2005
http://chandra.harvard.edu/press/05_releases/press_041905.html
http://myuminfo.umanitoba.ca/index.asp?sec=2&too=100&dat=4/1/2005&sta=3&wee=1&eve=8&npa=8264
April 8, 2005
http://chandra.harvard.edu/press/05_releases/press_040805.html
http://www.ras.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=750&Itemid=2
http://www.ras.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=747&Itemid=2
http://www.ras.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=749&Itemid=2
April 7, 2005
http://chandra.harvard.edu/press/05_releases/press_040705.html
http://www.ras.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=741&Itemid=2
http://www.ras.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=743&Itemid=2
April 6, 2005
http://www.science.psu.edu/alert/Brandt4-2005.htm
http://chandra.harvard.edu/press/05_releases/press_040605.html
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/news/releases/2005/05-041.html
http://www.ras.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=728&Itemid=2
http://www.ras.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=727&Itemid=2
April 5, 2005
http://www.science.psu.edu/alert/Roming4-2005.htm
http://www.ras.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=734&Itemid=2
http://www.ras.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=733&Itemid=2
March 24, 2005
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2005/gamma_earth.html
March 22, 2005
http://chandra.harvard.edu/press/05_releases/press_032205.html
http://www.umich.edu/news/?Releases/2005/Mar05/r032205c
March 16, 2005
http://www.uwnews.org/article.asp?articleID=8972
March 7, 2005
http://www.jhu.edu/news_info/news/home05/mar05/blckhole.html
March 2, 2005
http://chandra.harvard.edu/press/05_releases/press_030205.html
February, 24, 2005
http://www.umich.edu/news/index.html?Releases/2005/Feb05/r022405a
February, 18, 2005
http://www.atnf.csiro.au/news/press/magnetar_flare_site/magnetar_flare_release.html
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/press/pr0506.html
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2005/02/18_magnetar.shtml
http://www.ras.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=695&Itemid=2
http://www.nrao.edu/pr/2005/sgrburst/
February 17. 2005
http://www.lanl.gov/news/releases/archive/05-012.shtml
http://www.ucsc.edu/news_events/press_releases/text.asp?pid=639
February, 15, 2005
http://chandra.harvard.edu/press/05_releases/press_021505.html
http://www.news.wisc.edu/10707.html
February, 7, 2005
http://www.newsdesk.umd.edu/scitech/release.cfm?ArticleID=1029
February 3, 2005
http://www.newsroom.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/display.cgi?id=990
February, 2, 2005
http://chandra.harvard.edu/press/05_releases/press_020205.html
http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/05/050202.cream.shtml
http://www.ucsc.edu/news_events/press_releases/text.asp?pid=631
February, 1, 2005
http://www.science.psu.edu/alert/UVOTfirstlight.htm
January 28, 2005
http://www.csiro.au/index.asp?type=mediaRelease&id=magnetars&style=mediaRelease
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/press/pr0503.html
January 25, 2005
http://www.ras.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=366&Itemid=2
January 24, 2005
http://www.ucsc.edu/news_events/press_releases/text.asp?pid=628
January 21, 2005
http://www.science.psu.edu/alert/swift-first-burst1-2005.htm
January 10, 2005
http://chandra.harvard.edu/press/05_releases/press_011005.html
http://www.colorado.edu/news/releases/2005/9.html
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/press/pr0502.html
January 5, 2005
http://www.science.psu.edu/alert/Burrows1-2005.htm
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/watchtheskies/swift_first_light.html
http://chandra.harvard.edu/press/05_releases/press_010505.html
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/earthandsun/new_year_flare.html
December 14. 2005
http://chandra.harvard.edu/press/04_releases/press_121404.html
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/news/releases/2004/04-295.html
November 22, 2004
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/news/releases/2004/04-283.html
November 20, 2004
http://www.science.psu.edu/alert/Swift11-2004-2.htm
November 16, 2004
http://www.lanl.gov/news/releases/archive/04-091.shtml
And also several Image Releases at:
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/chronological.html
Back to Top
4. Chandra Fellows Named
The Chandra Fellows for 2005 have been selected. Below are listed
their names, where they received their PhD and their host
institutions for their Fellowships.
Elena Gallo, from Amsterdam, going to Santa Barbara
Jon Miller, from MIT, going to SAO (Note that after his selection as a Chandra Fellow, Jon Miller accepted a
faculty position at University of Michigan).
Jan-Uwe Ness, from Hamburg, going to Arizona State
Elena Rossi, from Cambridge, going to Colorado
David Sand, from CalTech, going to U. Arizona
Congratulations to all of you!
Back to Top
5. XMM-Newton Mission News - Stefan Immler (NASA/GSFC) and
Phil Plait (Sonoma State)
In December 2004, XMM-Newton celebrated its fifth anniversary in
space. With approximately 4,000 scientific observations performed and
over 800 publications in refereed journals published at a current rate
of one refereed paper per day, XMM-Newton is fully meeting and
exceeding expectations as ESA's second cornerstone mission in the
Horizon 2000 program.
On March 9, 2005, a bright flash was registered in the MOS1
instrument, causing a data buffer overflow for all CCDs across the
whole focal plane. After the event, which was likely caused by a
micro-meteorite impact, it became clear that the MOS1 CCD6 sustained
significant damage and that the number of hot pixels in the remaining
MOS1 CCDs increased. The MOS1 CCD1 further showed a hot column near
the boresight, which affects events below 200 eV. All other
instruments are in good health status.
Scientific observations are continuing normally with all instruments
on-board XMM-Newton, but with the MOS1 CCD6 permanently switched
off. The loss of the peripheral CCD6 and the appearance of a hot
detector column and new hot pixels (which are fully corrected for in
the current calibration products) has minimal impact on the data
reduction.
XMM-Newton Optical Monitor (OM) spectral response files have been
prepared to allow the combined spectral fitting of OM and X-ray
data. Canned response files giving single-point conversions from
filter count rate to flux are available and are compatible with
spectral fitting programs such as XSPEC.
An empirical correction of the positional errors in the 1XMM catalogue
has been established which minimizes systematical errors of source
positions when cross-correlating 1XMM catalog objects with other
astronomical catalogs.
The release of the Science Analysis System (SAS) 6.1 in December 2004
incorporated several improvements, including an RGS background
modeling capability, an upgrade of the OM grism data analysis, and a
new treatment of Time Correlation correcting problems with existing
time correlation data using Reconstructed Time Correlation (TCX) data.
The XMM-Newton AO4 call for budget proposals is closed and US PIs and
Co-Is have been notified of the results.
For more information about XMM-Newton, please visit the US Guest
Observer Facility pages at
http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/xmm/xmmgof.html
XMM-Newton E/PO News:
The Contemporary Laboratory Experiences in Astronomy (CLEA) exercise
"Dying Stars and the Birth of the Elements" is now in the beta test
phase. Copies of the exercise and the manual have been sent to
external reviewers for evaluation. The exercise is also available
online at http://xmm.sonoma.edu/edu/clea/index.html for review or
classroom use.
The Supernova Educator Unit is in development (in conjunction with
GLAST E/PO). The final production of this product will be in December
2005. Also, the StarLab portable planetarium X-ray cylinder and
exercises, "The eXtreme Universe" are in production. Several test
cylinders (used to project images in the inflatable planetarium dome)
have been created, and the exercises are currently being written, to
highlight comparisons between the x-ray and visible light skies.
XMM-Newton Educator ambassador Chris Royce presented two workshops
promoting the science behind the XMM-Newton mission at the 2004
National Science Teachers Association meeting in Dallas, Texas. There
were also a number of other workshops presented by Educator
Ambassadors for other missions where XMM-Newton and its science were
discussed. Past and future Educator Ambassador workshops are listed on
our events page http://epo.sonoma.edu/newsandevents.html.
Back to Top
6. RHESSI Mission News - David M. Smith, U. C. Santa Cruz
The Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) is
stable and performing well; the only change is the gradual radiation
damage to the detectors, which closely matches pre-launch
predictions. This affects only the spectroscopy of and sensitivity to
narrow gamma-ray lines. RHESSI does have the capability to anneal the
detectors to remove the radiation damage, but there is no plan to
anneal in the very near future as there is little impact to most of
the primary solar science. Once again, we will have off-pointing
observations to the Crab Nebula when it approaches the Sun this June,
with the goal of taking imaging data from approximately June 9 to 18.
RHESSI continues as one of the most powerful missions for the study of
solar flares, with images and spectra of electron bremsstrahlung being
used by many researchers both as independent measurements and in
conjunction with data from other missions, such as TRACE, SOHO, and
Wind. January 2005 saw a new set of X-class gamma-ray flares which
allow the study of ion acceleration as well, a reminder that not all
the action happens at solar maximum. G. Share et al. (2004, ApJ 615,
169) have found that the positron annihilation line in flares can vary
from quite narrow to unexpectedly broad (up to 8 keV FWHM), making it
a very sensitive probe of some surprising states of density and
temperature in the flaring solar atmosphere. Many RHESSI solar
results will be presented at the joint meeting of the American
Geophysical Union and the Solar Physics Division of AAS in New Orleans
this month, and at the fifth general RHESSI workshop in Locarno,
Switzerland in June.
RHESSI was one of many missions to see the stupendous flare of the
soft gamma repeater SGR 1806-20 on 27 December 2004 (K. Hurley et
al. 2005, Nature 434, 1098). Although its germanium detectors
saturated during the main peak, its particle detector did not, giving
a good measurement of the overall fluence of the peak. During the
pulsating tail, RHESSI recorded what may be the best available spectra
of this event, its detectors being sensitive from 3 keV to 20 MeV for
a source so near the Sun.
RHESSI has also been observing millisecond-long Terrestrial Gamma-ray
Flashes (TGFs), which were discovered by the Burst and Transient
Source Experiment (BATSE) on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory
(G. J. Fishman et al. 1994, Science 264, 1313). RHESSI sees about 12
TGFs per month, for a total database of over 400 events and growning,
compared to BATSE's mission total of 76. The RHESSI high-resolution
spectra show emission up to > 20 MeV, implying bremsstrahlung from
highly relativistic electrons accelerated above thunderstorms
(D. M. Smith et al. 2005, Science 307, 1085). A list of the RHESSI
TGFs is available at http://scipp.ucsc.edu/~dsmith/tgf/.
Back to Top
7. Swift Mission News - Christopher Wanjek, Phil Plait and
Lynn Cominsky, Sonoma State University
The Swift observatory launched in November and is working well, as
evidenced by the dozens of gamma-ray bursts detected so far. About 20
days after launch one of the subsystems (the thermal electric cooler)
malfunctioned, but this has been compensated for through software
updates and ground-operation procedures. On May 10 Swift had its
Space Science Mission Operations (SSMO) review to transfer
responsibility from NASA's Explorer Program to NASA Goddard's SSMO for
day-to-day operations. Swift continues to be operated from the Mission
Operations Center at Penn State University.
Swift began normal science operations on April 5, 2005, following the
completion of the check-out phase. Since then, all data taken by Swift
have been available immediately to the community through the Swift
Data Center's Quicklook Facility at GSFC as soon as they have been
processed. As of April 12, 2005, one-week old Swift data have been
routinely transferred to three long-term archives (one each in the US,
UK and Italy.)
Funding for Swift Guest Observations in Cycle 1 is underway, and Cycle
2 Guest Investigator proposals are due July 8, 2005. The proposal
review will take place in the Fall 2005, with results announced around
the end of the year. Proposers must register with NASA?s new NSPIRES
system. The Swift GI program is open to scientists at US institutions,
and is intended to provide funding to carry out investigations using
Swift data, conduct correlative observations at other wavelengths and
carry out theoretical investigations in support of Swift
observations. For more information, click the Proposals and Tools
button on the http://swift.gsfc.nasa.gov website.
One of the biggest Swift discoveries so far has been the December 27
detection of the "superflare" from SGR 1806-20. Swift and many other
observatories -- RHESSI, VLA, VLBA, Parkes, MOST, MERLIN, ATCA, WSRT
and Greenbank -- documented the flare and confirmed this was a massive
eruption from the surface of a magnetar. The event attracted major
news coverage, as did the observation of the first x-ray afterglow
from a "short" (< 2 seconds duration) gamma-ray burst
(GRB050509b). Observations of this burst to date appear to provide
evidence for the compact object merger theory. Such a detection was a
key goal for Swift, and it came only six months after launch.
But from the beginning, Swift revealed its strength. Its "first
light" detection announcements (in X-ray and UV/optical) were
superseded by a stream of GRB detections. In fact, the Swift team was
still calibrating the main instrument, the Burst Alert Telescope
(BAT), when the first burst appeared on December 17. Three bursts on
December 19 and one on December 20 followed. Aside from burst
activity, Swift has begun an all-sky hard X-ray survey.
The NASA E/PO Group at Sonoma State University has introduced several
new items to support the success of the Swift launch and the start of
the science observations.
A web site (http://grb.sonoma.edu) has been created that has real-time
updates for gamma-ray bursts. The page "listens" for announcements
from the GCN for Swift, HETE-2, INTEGRAL, and Konus-WIND. When a GRB
is announced, it automatically plots the position of the GRB on an
all-sky map, and creates both a finder chart showing the constellation
in which the GRB resides, as well as a chart using the Digitized Sky
Survey images (displaying an image 15 arc minutes on a side). The
software was written by Information Technology Consultant Tim
Graves. Education Resource Director Phil Plait then writes a brief
synopsis of the burst, aimed at the public level. The site was
designed to be used in a museum kiosk, and is enjoying a high level of
popularity not just in the public but also by scientists.
A quarterly newsletter has been started to keep people up-to-date with
Swift news. The first issue came out in May 2005, and can be found at
http://swift.sonoma.edu/resources/multimedia/newsletter. You can also
sign up to have it sent to you via email at
http://swift.sonoma.edu/resources/multimedia/newsletter/signup.html.
Dr. Lynn Cominsky, head of the SSU E/PO group, has developed a
presentation about Swift called "Swift View of the Universe," and has
given it at several venues, including the 3rd High Energy Workshop for
Amateur Astronomers (see accompanying article about GLAST). You can
download the presentation at
http://swift.sonoma.edu/resources/swift/educa_pres/swiftview040705/index.html.
Dr. Cominsky
was also the topic of a feature article in the northern California
newspaper The Press Democrat, where she discusses Swift and the work
done by the E/PO group. The article can be read on line at
http://www.northbay.com/lifestyle/general/17cominsky_d1.html.
The E/PO team will be teaching the Swift and GLAST sponsored "You Are
Here" mini-course to students at the Roseland University Prep School
in Santa Rosa, California, starting May 18th. This is a series of
lessons designed to teach students about the size and scale of the
Universe as well as what it looks like at different wavelengths of
light. A version of this mini-course has been adapted to be given at
the Sonoma Boys and Girls Club starting June 21.
Swift Educator Ambassadors David Beier and Rob Sparks presented
Swift-sponsored materials in workshops at the 2004 National Science
Teachers Association meeting in Dallas, Texas. There were also a
number of other workshops presented by Educator Ambassadors for other
missions where Swift materials were used. All upcoming E/PO events
including the Educator Ambassador workshops can be found on our event
page http://epo.sonoma.edu/newsandevents.html.
Back to Top
8. GLAST Mission News - Christopher Wanjek, Phil Plait and
Lynn Cominsky, Sonoma State
This is an extremely exciting time for GLAST mission, with flight
hardware now being integrated. The Large Area Telescope (LAT)
Calorimeter (CAL) modules assembly at NRL is complete. The LAT ACD
integration is almost complete at GSFC, and the ACD will ship to SLAC
in June after completion of testing. The first five LAT Trackers
(TKR) were delivered to SLAC from production in Italy. The first two
full towers (TKR+CAL+electronics) have been integrated into the flight
support structure at SLAC, and multi-tower airshower particle events
have been recorded. System testing is proceeding well. In addition,
spacecraft integration has started. The GLAST Burst Monitor (GBM)
electronics have been delivered.
The integration of the LAT and GBM should be completed by January
2006. Environmental test of the LAT at NRL will start in
January. Delivery of both instruments to General Dynamics C4 Division
(the spacecraft contractor formerly known as Spectrum Astro) in
Arizona is planned for late spring. The launch is planned for August
2007.
The Science Working Group (SWG) continues to have regular telecons,
every two months. The next GLAST Users Committee meeting is in early
June. The LAT team already at work preparing for the second data
challenge, which will start in January 2006. (See the November 2004
HEAD newsletter about the first data challenge). This data challenge
will also include the GBM. GLAST was well-represented at a number of
recent meetings, including the January AAS meeting in San Diego, the
April APS meeting in Florida, the FIU Blazar Workshop, and the Paris
TeV Workshop.
GLAST E/PO News:
GLAST E/PO at Sonoma State University sponsored two major workshops in
the past six months: a "Modeling the Universe" workshop at the AAS
meeting in San Diego, and the 3rd High-Energy Astrophysics meeting in
Las Cruces (which was also co-sponsored by Swift). The first workshop
was presented in conjunction with other SEU forum members, and was
given to teachers from the local San Diego area. The reviews which
came back indicated that it was a successful workshop and helpful for
the teachers involved. The second workshop was in conjunction with
the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO), and was
attended by approximately 90 amateur astronomers and science
educators. We presented information about the Global Telescope Network
in an effort to get amateurs to join and educators to use it to teach
astronomy. The GLAST E/PO team also gave a demo of the GLAST Optical
Robotic Telescope (GORT), which is now remotely commandable via the
internet, and has begun observing GLAST scientific targets. SSU
personnel did an activity designed to teach photometric analysis, and
gave several talks about various aspects of high-energy astrophysics.
GLAST Educator Ambassadors Michiel Ford, Daryl Taylor, Pamela Whiffen,
and Walter Glogowski all presented workshops at the 2004 National
Science Teachers Association meeting in Dallas, Texas. There were also
a number of other workshops presented by Educator Ambassadors for
other missions where GLAST materials were used. All upcoming E/PO
events including the Educator Ambassador workshops can be found on our
event page http://epo.sonoma.edu/newsandevents.html.
Dr. Lynn Cominsky, SSU E/PO Lead, was interviewed by the northern
California newspaper "The Bohemian," where she discussed high-energy
astrophysics and GORT. (To read it online, see
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/01.12.05/blackholes-0502.html)
Dr. Phil Plait also wrote an article about GORT for California Wild,
the magazine for the California Academy of Sciences.
Back to Top
9. HETE Mission News - George Ricker, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Now entering its fifth year of operations, HETE
continues to provide the observer community with
prompt, accurate localizations and spectral
characteristics of GRB sources. The HETE
spacecraft and dedicated ground network continue
to operate reliably and efficiently. All three
science instruments (i.e., the gamma-ray
[Fregate], the medium energy X-ray [WXM], and the
soft X-ray cameras [SXC]) continue to work well.
HETE is currently localizing ~20 GRBs per year,
with 79 GRBs localized thus far in 4.5 years of
operation. HETE's localization sample includes 24
X-ray flashes (XRFs) thus far. Twenty-nine HETE
localizations have led to detection of an X-ray,
optical or radio afterglow. The harvest from
SXC-refined localizations of initial WXM
detections continues to be particularly rich,
with 17 of 22 recent localizations resulting in
optical or near IR counterparts; i.e., 77% have
IR or optical counterparts. Thus, very few
SXC-localized bursts have been optically dark.
Furthermore, redshifts have been reported for 17
HETE-localized GRBs. Thus, HETE localizations
have enabled ~35% of all the redshifts ever
measured for GRBs.
The increasing number of HETE bursts that are
well-characterized spectrally and that have
measured redshifts has greatly extended the range
and robustness of the so-called "Amati relation,"
which correlates Epeak, the value of the peak
energy of the spectrum in =C9=C0F=C9=C0, to the burst
isotropic energy, Eiso (Amati et al. 2000).
Ghirlanda et al. (2004), Dai et al. (2004), and
Lazzati et al. (2005) have argued that a
model-dependent correction of the prompt burst
energy for the jet opening angle results in a
surprisingly accurate "standard ruler" applicable
to cosmography for redshifts up to z ~3, well
beyond the range z=3D0 to z~1.5 currently
accessible for Type Ia supernovae. Discovery of
low-redshift bursts with accurately-measured
spectra will be essential to test and fully
cross-calibrate this promising new methodology,
as emphasized by Friedman and Bloom (2005). HETE
has already discovered 5 GRBs with redshifts in
the range 0.1 < z < 0.5 that will be critical for
this cross calibration: more low-z GRB events
than from all other satellite missions combined.
(As of this date, the lowest redshift GRB
established for any Swift burst is z=3D1.3 for
GRB051026; Berger et al., GCN 3088).
As the most extreme burst population known, X-Ray
Flashes (XRFs) provide severe constraints on
burst models and offer unique insights into the
structure of GRB jets, the GRB rate, and the
nature of Type Ic supernovae. New insights into
the nature of XRFs have come from recent
observations of these events by HETE and from
X-ray, optical, and radio follow-up observations
of their afterglows. Still, many key questions
concerning XRFs remain unanswered. These
include: Is the total energy radiated by XRFs
much less than the total energy radiated by GRBs
(as some observations indicate)? Does the burst
population extend down to events with peak
energies at UV and optical wavelengths? Is the
XRF population a direct extension of the GRB and
"X-ray rich" GRB populations, or is it a distinct
population? If it is a direct extension, are
XRFs a separate component of GRBs? If it is not,
do XRFs require different physics than do GRBs?
There has been a surge in theoretical modeling of
XRFs in the past year, much of it attempting to
address these questions. In order to broaden the
discourse on these topics and to highlight recent
XRF discoveries by HETE, a special half-day
session on X-ray Flashes will take place on 31
May at the 206th Meeting of the American
Astronomical Society in Minneapolis.
The commencement of full operations by Swift in
April 2005 has enabled a scientific partnership
between HETE and Swift in which HETE promptly
localizes XRFs and characterizes their spectra,
and Swift slews to these events, bringing its
X-ray Telescope (XRT) instrument to bear. Thus,
an XRF (or other GRB) position can be refined
from the ~1-10 arcminute localization provided by
HETE, to the ~5=C5h localization provided by the
XRT, which can also fully characterize the X-ray
afterglow. In the first test of this combined
observing strategy, the source GRB050408 was
detected as an XRF by HETE (Prigozhin et al., GCN
3189). The HETE WXM and SXC real-time
localizations were disseminated world-wide within
11s, while the burst was still in progress. Using
these coordinates, Swift quickly established an
X-ray afterglow, after slewing to the target just
42 minutes after the burst! (Wells et al., GCN
3191) In quick succession, detailed ground-based
optical followups promptly identified a fading
counterpart within the SXC error box (de Ugarte
Postigo et al., GCN 3192), for which a redshift
(z=3D1.23, Berger et al., GCN 3201) was promptly
established and confirmed (Prochaska et al., GCN
3204). Extended monitoring of the X-ray afterglow
by the Swift XRT and ground-based
optical-IR-radio observations over the following
three weeks provided unprecedented details of the
simultaneous X-ray and longer wavelength decay of
this very unusual burst. In all, more than 40 GCN
Circulars were published concerning this burst in
April alone.
Following on from the success with GRB050408, we
estimate that HETE can increase by a factor ~10
the number of XRFs with Epeak < 5 keV and by a
factor ~3 the number of XRFs with Epeak < 10 keV
that Swift can follow up for X-ray and optical
afterglows. For these events, HETE can provide
prompt fluences (Sbolometric), and spectral
parameters (Epeak) for bursts that Swift can then
follow up: these data are crucial for confirming
that the Eiso-Epeak relation extends to XRFs and
for confirming strong GRB evolution with redshift.
The scientific discoveries that HETE has made,
the ways in which it is complementary to and
synergizes with Swift, and its low operating cost
are important reasons for continuing HETE
operations during the Swift mission. Recognizing
this, the 2004 NASA Senior Review recommended
that HETE mission operations overlap with Swift
mission operations for at least one year, with
the possibility of a further extension, to fully
exploit the scientific partnership between HETE
and Swift. (Since Swift commenced its operational
phase in April 2005, this recommendation would
call for the HETE-Swift overlap period to extend
until April 2006.)
The HETE Science Team continues to provide a
variety of calibrated data products to the
observer community in near-real time. Complete
Fregate light curves and the results of first-cut
spectral analyses are posted to the HETE web page
(http://space.mit.edu/HETE/Bursts/) within
minutes of reception of the full burst data set
from the satellite. The automatic spectral fits
are derived from triggered data from the Fregate
instrument for bursts localized by the WXM and/or
the SXC. At present, the following information is
posted: spectral fits to the data; calculated
values of Epeak; the 25-100 keV fluence; the
burst duration; and a plot of the spectral fit
generated by XSPEC (to allow any interested
observer the opportunity to check the automated
results). The spectral results for a typical
burst are posted between 20 and 90 minutes after
the burst, depending on the location of HETE in
its orbit at the time of the trigger. Further
details and caveats on the method are described
at http://space.mit.edu/HETE/Bursts/, including a
description of the relevant data sets and details
properties of these bursts, including references,
are being systematically published by the HETE
Team in refereed journals.
Back to Top
10. RXTE News - Padi Boyd, Jean Swank, Craig Markwardt, Tod
Strohmayer - GSFC
All the RXTE instruments remain stable and continue to perform well.
Exciting science results from new observations and from the extensive
RXTE public archive continue to emerge, and cover a broad range of
topics. So far in 2005, there are RXTE-related refereed publications
on SS433, AGNs as analogs of low/hard state black holes, hard X-ray
excess in a galaxy cluster, a bright old nova, eta Carina, and
intermediate polars, as well as the millisecond pulsars, high and low
frequency QPO sources, pulsars, and black hole binaries, for which
RXTE is famous. These can be found among the RXTE results on
http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/xte/whatsnew/xte_refereed.html
In addition to its own unique timing science, RXTE currently supports
many multi-wavelength efforts, coordinating observations with the
complimentary capabilities of Chandra, INTEGRAL, XMM/Newton, Swift and
several ground-based and balloon-borne observatories. Some recent RXTE
science highlights follow:
Black Hole Lense-Thirring Precession - New RXTE observations reveal
evidence of hot iron gas "surfing" on a ripple in spacetime around a
black hole. Jon Miller (CfA) and Jeroen Homan (MIT) announced their
results at the American Astronomical Society meeting in San Deigo in
January. Their observations of GRS1915+105 show a low-frequency QPO of
1 to 2 hertz is tied to changes in the broad iron K line, suggesting
that both features arise close to the event horizon. The low frequency
QPO is thought to be due to Lense-Thirring precession, a prediction of
general relativity.
For more details, see the NASA Feature article:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/universe/blackhole_surfing.html
Neutron Star mass and radius - Scientists gain glimpse of bizarre
matter in a neutron star. Dr. Tod Strohmayer (NASA GSFC) and Adam
Villarreal (graduate student, University of Arizona) used RXTE and
XMM/Newton to obtain the best measurements yet of the mass and radius
of a neutron star. Announcing their findings at the September High
Energy Astrophysics Division (HEAD) meeting in New Orleans, Villarreal
said, "Our results are really starting to put the squeeze on the
neutron star equation of state."
For more details, see the NASA Feature article:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2004/0908nsmatter.html
Giant Magnetar Flare - Like all high-energy detectors in orbit, RXTE
was saturated by the superflare of the magnetar SGR 1806-20 on
December 27, 2004. Even though the source was 31 degress off-axis, two
ASM cameras shut off due to the high rate, and the 3 PCUs on at the
time saturated. The precurser, the giant flare and the decaying train
of pulsed emission are seen in the PCA data even though they are
heavily absorbed by the PCA collimator. A recent preprint by GianLuca
Israel and coworkers (astro-ph/0505255) claims the detection of 92.5
Hz QPOs during the pulsating tail of the giant flare. A possible
interpretation is that the flare rattled the neutron star crust and
the QPOs are related to crustal oscillation modes
Special Session at Summer AAS meeting - RXTE's first decade of
science will be celebrated with a special session at the 206th AAS
meeting in
Minnesota (Session 17. Fundamental Physics with Millisecond Pulsars,
Monday, 10:00-11:30am, May 30, 2005). Six speakers will discuss this
topic, to which RXTE has made a significant contribution, from
observational and theoretical perspectives.
RXTE Cycle 10 overview - RXTE continues to be a popular observatory
among the community. We received 150 proposals in response to the call
for proposals as part of NASA Headquarters' ROSS-04 announcement. A
total of over 61 Mega-seconds observing time was requested, for an
oversubscription factor of about 5.1. The results of the peer review
can be found online at:
http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/xte/timeline/cycle10_targets.html As
in the past two years, guest observer funding was available to support
Cycle 10 observations. The budget review has recently concluded and
PIs have been notified of the results. A total of $1.2 Million was
available this year, an increase of 500 thousand over the last two
years.
Cycle 11 Announcement - The Cycle 11 announcement was released as
part of NASA Headquarters' ROSES-2005 solicitation. The proposal
deadline
is September 19, 2005. See
http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations/summary.do?
method=3Dinit&solId=3D{CA1A2C91-4339-9A34-1BDE-F118E7FC124F}&path=3Dopen
= for details.
Current observing campaign of the microquasar GRO J1655-40 - The
binary black hole which was first discovered in 1994 and was observed
by RXTE 1996-1997, reappeared in February, 2005. Multiwavelength
observing campaigns are underway. A major project by Jeroen Homan
(MIT) makes available data for a variety of projects.
Frustrated observing campaign - A famous pulsar, A0535+262, which was
the target of many proposals during RXTE's lifetime, because it was
expected to provide such fruitful measurements, has just become
active. During this unique event the proximity to the sun is
preventing RXTE observations.
Birthday Celebration Preparations - A local celebration, an educator
workshop based on RXTE results, and a community open house are being
planned to coincide with the 10th anniversary of RXTE's launch. In
this way, scientists and engineers who participated in the RXTE
mission will be able to share their experiences and memories with
local students, teachers and the general public.
Back to Top
11. Chandra X-ray Observatory Operations Report - Roger
Brissenden, SAO and Martin Weisskopf, MSFC
Chandra continued to operate with excellent performance by the
spacecraft and science instruments during the last six months. We are
pleased to report that the mission is approaching its 6th year of
operation this July in good health and with significant long-term
reserves of consumables.
Operations highlights. Chandra completed the winter eclipse season in
November with nominal power and thermal performance, and a nominal
lunar eclipse and Leonids meteor shower passage, also in November. A
series of flight software patches were installed to provide the
capability to use the HRC as a solar radiation detector, thus
mitigating the risk of degraded performance of the EPHIN radiation
detector, which has already lasted longer than expected. Another
flight
software patch was developed in response to new thermal constraints
that ensures that Chandra will transition to a safe thermal attitude
in the event of a spacecraft safing action. Measurements of the
aspect camera's dark current taken in December and March show a
nominal warm pixel trend. Overall, the mission metrics indicate
excellent mission performance.
There have been no major anomalies or safe modes during the last 6
months. However, in November, the Flight team responded to a
transition to Normal Sun Mode cause by the sun falling out of the Fine
Sun Sensor field of view during a large momentum transient associated
with autonomous safing of the science instruments due to high
radiation. The transition was found not to be anomalous but rather a
result of unusual timing of events and science operations were
restored efficiently.
The EPHIN radiation detector has continued to exhibit occasional cases
of anomalous behavior due to high temperatures resulting from
increased thermal environments that result from the expected gradual
changes to the flight thermal insulating material. With the software
patches now in place that allow the future use of the HRC
anti-coincidence shield in support of or in place of EPHIN, the
mission planning team is now able to budget a limited number of high
temperature attitudes to provide some scheduling relief.
The observing schedule was interrupted 5 times in this period due to
high solar activity, which contributed to an overall observing
efficiency of 61%, compared with the maximum possible efficiency of
~70%. In addition, the new thermal constraints limit the duration that
Chandra can spend at certain pitch angles to the Sun, requiring added
effort by the mission planners and reducing slightly the observing
efficiency. The schedule was also replanned 6 times to accommodate
fast turn-around Target of Opportunity (TOO) observations, with
response times ranging from 1-4 days.
Both the ACIS and HRC focal plane instruments have continued to
operate well. Work has continued on analysis and ground-based
experimentation related to the question of whether to proceed with a
bakeout of the ACIS instrument in order to remove much or most of the
contaminant believed to be present on the ACIS Optical Blocking
Filter. The bakeout is being considered to regain much of the ACIS
effective area at lower energies.
The processing, archiving and distribution of Chandra data has
continued without problems, and the average time from target
observation to distribution of data has been reduced from about a
week to 3 days. The archive continues to grow at ~0.5 TB per year,
with data retrievals remaining at ~200 to ~400 GB per month.
The Operations Control Center ground team continued their work in
integrating and testing the transfer of the ground system software
from Irix to the Linux operating system. Following a Test Readiness
Review and Acceptance Testing, the new system is expected to become
operational during the summer.
The Science Data System team released CIAO 3.2 in December, providing
new tools including mkacisrmf, improved corrections for ACIS filter
contamination as a function of position and a number of grating
analysis tool upgrades. Version 7.5 of the CXC Data System software
was released in December to support of the Cycle 7 call for
proposals. The data processing team is preparing to begin the third
full re-processing of Chandra data this summer.
The Chandra Press Office released 14 press releases during the last 6
months, including a media telecon in May that featured a deep
observation of Orion.
The Cycle 7 Call for Proposals yielded over 700 proposals, and the
proposal Peer Review is scheduled for June 21-23 in Boston. The
observing program is expected to transition from Cycle 6 to Cycle 7 in
December as planned, and the Cycle 8 Call for Proposals is expected in
mid-December.
We look forward to the completion of 6 years of operations and the Six
Years of Science with Chandra symposium to be held in Boston, November
2-4.
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12. Astro-E2 Mission News - Richard Kelley, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
The Japan/US Astro-E2 Observatory has successfully completed all of
its environmental and performance tests and is being readied for
launch at the Uchinoura Space Center in southern Japan. All three
instruments, the high resolution X-Ray Spectrometer (XRS), the X-Ray
Imaging Spectrometer (XIS) and Hard X-Ray Detector (HXD) have been
fully tested several times since last fall and are working properly.
A final performance test of the spacecraft and instruments will be
carried out at the launch site before attachment to the M-V-6 rocket.
The official launch window opens June 26, 2005.
Astro-E2 will be placed into a 550 km orbit with 31 degree
inclination. Web coverage of the launch is anticipated. In the
meantime, the instrument teams continue to sort through ground
calibration data and refine data analysis tools that will be
available to the GO community.
We have released the call for Stage 2 (budget) proposals earlier this
month, via individual e-mails and on the GOF website (see
http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/astroe/prop_tools/stage2/stage2_c1.html
for details). Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any
questions regarding the process. Both the RPS (electronic)
submission and the hardcopy submission must reach us by 4:30 pm EDT
on Friday, June 10, 2005.
Astro-E2 EPO News:
1) Sneak Preview!
We have just released "Building the coolest X-ray satellite:
Astro-E2" the movie about the upcoming Astro-E2 mission. Packed with
action and drama, the movie has already earned the praises of movie
critics worldwide.
Don't be the last to see this summer blockbuster about science and a
micro-calorimeter!
Come by the "Beyond Einstein" booth at the summer AAS meeting for a
sneak preview. Popcorn optional.
2) And the winners are...
The Astro-E2 competition for high-school students has just finished
and the winners will be announced at the upcoming AAS meeting. The
competition attracted talented students from across the country who
submitted observing proposals on objects that they had selected.
The winning team will have the opportunity to work next year with
Astro-E2 data. The students are expected to present their findings at
one of the upcoming meetings of the AAS.
For more information on the Astro-E2 outreach program, please visit
the Astro-E2 Learning Center web site at
http://astroe2LC.gsfc.nasa.gov.
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13. A NEW Newsletter -- "The Gravitational Lens" - Michelle B. Larson, Penn State
The Center for Gravitational Wave Physics is starting a new effort
called "The Gravitational Lens" - a newsletter highlighting recent
work
relevant to gravitational physics. Each issue contains a few pieces
(written at a level for scientists in any field) that highlight
gravity-related preprints of broad interest.
The first issue of The Gravitational Lens is now available at
http://cgwp.gravity.psu.edu/gravlens
This issue features articles about:
* Identifying Earth-like Planets Around Distant Stars via
* GravitationalMicrolensing
* Observational Tests of Semiclassical Quantum Gravity Theories
* Searching for Gravitational Waves from Gamma Ray Bursts
Please share The Gravitational Lens with students and colleagues who
may
be interested. Anyone may join The Gravitational Lens mailing list to
receive email notification of future issues: see
http://gravity.psu.edu/mailman/listinfo/gravlens/
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14. Meeting Announcements
Editor's note: A list of international astronomical meetings can be
found at
http://cadcwww.dao.nrc.ca/meetings/meetings.html
Below are listed meetings that may be of interest to HEAD members, and
particularly those where the meeting organizers have asked to have
their meeting announcement included in the HEAD newsletter.
Pulsar Timing Array -- A Nanohertz Gravitational Wave Telescope (21-23 July 2005, Penn State)
Center for Gravitational Wave Physics,
Penn State University
Pulsar timing offers a unique opportunity to detect nano-Hz frequency
gravitational waves. The nano-Hz regime fills a void between the
ultra-low
frequency band probed by cosmic microwave background experiments and
higher frequency bands probed by space and ground based gravitational
wave
observatories. Sources of gravitational waves detectable using pulsar
timing methods include coalescing supermassive black hole binary
systems
distributed throughout the universe, relic gravitational waves
generated
at the birth of the universe, and cosmic strings.
The main goal of this workshop is to bring together researchers in
gravitational wave, massive black hole, and pulsar astrophysics in
order
to discuss and advance the research that will lead to gravitational
wave
detection using pulsar timing. Talks will be given to promote useful
discussions on the topics of improving pulsar timing, developing
gravitational wave detection techniques, interpreting observations,
and
better understanding the sources of gravitational waves in the nano-Hz
frequency regime.
Additional details about the meeting, including registration and hotel
information, can be found at
http://cgwp.gravity.psu.edu/events/PulsarTiming/index.shtml
The hotel room block will release on 20 June, 2005.
Six Years of Science with Chandra Symposium-- Dedicated to Leon Van Speybroeck (2-4 November 2005, Cambridge, MA)
NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory was launched six years ago on July
23, 1999 and has been making significant advancements in astrophysics
ever since. This meeting will highlight science results from the past
six years of operation with emphasis on recent results. Contributions
covering recent results from the XMM-Newton Observatory are also
encouraged.
This symposium is dedicated to the late Leon Van Speybroeck, the
telescope scientist who led the team that designed the fine mirrors
for Chandra.
The astronomical community is strongly encouraged to propose oral
and/or poster contributions for the symposium.
The DEADLINE for abstract submission is 15 JULY 2005. Abstracts should be
submitted on-line at http://hea-www.harvard.edu/6YrsChandra/present/
On-line registration is open at:
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/6YrsChandra/registration/
Current information on the symposium can be found on the web
site at:
http://cxc.harvard.edu/symposium_2005/
Chandra Calibration Workshop. 31 October - 1 November, 2005.
The Chandra Calibration Workshop (CCW) is taking place at the Royal
Sonesta Hotel on the two days prior to the Six Years of Chandra
symposium (31 October - 1 November). The purpose of this workshop is
to share the Chandra calibration teams' knowledge of the detectors and
mirrors with the community while encouraging participation and
feedback in the process of calibrating the satellite. This year, there
will be a special session on "Incorporating Calibration Uncertainties
into Data Analysis" on Tuesday afternoon (November 1). Presentations
are solicited on aspects of Chandra calibration and its effects on
data analysis and interpretation.
There is no registration fee for this workshop, however attendees must
register. Visit the CCW website at
http://cxc.harvard.edu/ccw/ http://cxc.harvard.edu/ccw/
for more information and to register.
Star Formation in the Era of Three Great
Observatories (13-15 July 2005, Cambridge, MA)
The goal of the workshop is to review topics in star-formation
which are inherently multiwavelength, and to both define the
current state of knowledge and the points of current controversy
where new observations are most needed. We plan to focus on topics
for which the Great Observatories have the most to contribute during
this unique period of simultaneous operation. We will also consider
observations from other facilities as well as theoretical work.
We anticipate coverage of galactic and local-group star forming
regions and potentially galaxies of the local group. We hope to
come away with a list of future strategies and goals to be
presented to NASA and the project leaders of each of the three
telescopes. This workshop is sponsored by the Chandra X-ray Center
and the Spitzer Science Center.
DEADLINE: Late Abstract Submission deadline is June 3 or
when the room is full.
You may submit abstracts and register at:
http://cxc.harvard.edu/stars05/registration/registration.html
4th International X-ray Astronomy School
(15 - 19 August 2005, Cambridge, MA)
With the launch of Chandra and XMM-Newton, X-ray astronomy is becoming
increasingly important for research into many topics in
astrophysics. However, many astronomers have never analyzed X-ray data
and do not have a clear idea of the features and challenges involved.
X-ray astronomy is currently in a golden area providing important
insights into many topics in astrophysics. However, many astronomers
have never analyzed X-ray data and do not have a clear idea of the
features and challenges involved. We are organizing a X-ray school
intended for graduate students and recent postdocs who want to
understand the intricacies of X-ray astronomy. The emphasis will be
on the foundations of X-ray astronomy rather than on any particular
software tools, but we will have every afternoon devoted to hands-on
data analysis sessions.
The deadline for registration is June 30, 2005. There is a
registration fee of $250.00 The total enrollment to the school is
limited to 50 people and we are already almost full, so don't delay
your registration!
If you are interested in attending this X-ray Astronomy school,
please see our registration page at:
http://xrayschool.gsfc.nasa.gov
The X-ray Universe
(26 - 30 September 2005, Madrid, Spain)
The XMM-Newton Science Operations Centre is organizing a major
astrophysical symposium from Monday, 26th. to Friday, 30th. of
September 2005 in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, a small town in the
mountains some 50 kilometers northwest of Madrid. San Lorenzo is the
most visited historic centre in Spain.
The XMM-Newton and Chandra space observatories have now been operating
for half a decade and are continuing to provide superb data which is
changing our view of almost every aspect of the Universe at high
energies. In the near future the launch of Astro E-2 will provide
enhanced capabilities for high resolution spectroscopy, and Swift
recently joined HETE-2 in making detailed studies of gamma-ray
bursts. Significant new insights are also emerging from Integral's
view of the sky at hard X-ray and gamma- ray energies.
With this backdrop the "The X-ray Universe 2005" symposium is intended
to encompass a broad range of high energy astrophysics topics, to
provide a showcase for results and discoveries from current and
near-future missions and a forum for the discussion of astrophysical
themes with a high-energy connection.
More information at http://www.congrex.nl/05a11/
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HEADNEWS, the electronic newsletter of the High Energy Astrophysics Division of the American Astronomical Society, is issued twice yearly by the HEAD Secretary-Treasurer. The HEAD Executive Committee Members are:
