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XMM-Newton 'spare-time' provides impressive sky survey   In its on-going slew survey of the sky, XMM-Newton is able to map with high efficiency very large sky features. Among these, is the 20 000 year-old Vela supernova remnant (right) - occupying a sky area 150 times larger than the full moon. This object is compared here with an image previously taken by the former ROSAT mission (left).  Eighty-one galaxy clusters – objects that make extended X-ray emissions - are know from former sky surveys (see image). Previously unknown sources of these kind are now being catalogued thanks to XMM-Newton's slew sky survey.
Studying these objects, especially when highly luminous, is very important to investigate the evolution of the Universe. Release date: 3 May 2006 |