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Survey On New Techniques for X-Ray Astronomy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 August 2015

Riccardo Giacconi
Riccardo Giacconi*
Affiliation:
American Science and Engineering, Inc., Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A.

Abstract

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The limitations imposed in X-ray astronomy observations by the use of sounding rockets with their inherent short time for observations and restricted payload capabilities will soon be surmounted when the new generation of X-ray experiments carried aloft by earth orbitting satellites is launched.

In the early 1970's several payloads included in the spacecrafts SASA, OSOH, SAS C, OSO 1, UK 5 and ANS will perform high sensitivity surveys of the entire celestial sphere. As a result of these experiments we expect to: increase the sensitivity of our observations by a factor of approximately 100; to improve the measurement of location on all known sources and on newly discovered ones to an accuracy of ½ to 6 arc min; to acquire more definite information on rapid time variations of the X-ray sources; to measure the polarization of the incoming X-ray radiation to several per cent for the strongest sources; and, finally, to determine for the strongest sources the existence of emission lines or absorption edges to the accuracy required to confirm or disprove present theories of source of emission processes and interstellar absorption.

Beyond these surveys a new generation of X-ray instrumentation utilizing focussing X-ray telescopes is in the planning stage. These instruments will yield a qualitative advance in the type of observations that can be performed. Location and structure of X-ray sources can be determined with these techniques to precisions of a few arc seconds to a limiting surface brightness of 10−14 erg/cm2 s (arc s2). Spectroscopy of the strongest sources can be carried out with energy resolutions λ/Δλ of 103 to 104. Polarization measurements can be carried out to a few per cent on the Crab and rapid varying events can be followed with a time resolution of 10−4 s.

A summary of the instrumentation will be given from the point of view of the developments and improvements which are being carried out to achieve the observational goals mentioned above.

Type
Part II: X-ray Astonomy
Information
Symposium - International Astronomical Union , Volume 41: New Technique in Space Astronomy , 1971 , pp. 104 - 133
Copyright
Copyright © Reidel 1971 

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