Satellite and observatory will study x‐ray sources
DOI: 10.1063/1.3069108
A satellite launched in May and a new observatory at Kitt Peak, Arizona will provide astrophysicists with a dual means to observe x‐ray sources. The satellite is Explorer 52, the third in the NASA Small Astronomy Satellite series; it has four experiments that make up a research package developed at MIT’s Center for Space Research. The package includes
▸ a galactic absorption experiment, to monitor the absorption of low‐energy diffuse x‐ray background interstellar matter in the galaxy,
▸ a Scorpio monitor experiment, to view the time variations of x‐ray activity in the x‐ray source Sco X‐1,
▸ a galactic monitor experiment, to help locate x‐ray sources in the Milky Way to a precision of 15 arcsec and
▸ an extra‐galactic experiment, which will monitor weak x‐ray sources outside our galaxy.
