Welcome to the XMM-Newton Science Operations Centre

 

The European Space Agency's (ESA) X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) was launched by an Ariane 504 on December 10th 1999. XMM-Newton is ESA's second cornerstone of the Horizon 2000 Science Programme. It carries 3 high throughput X-ray telescopes with an unprecedented effective area, and an optical monitor, the first flown on a X-ray observatory. The large collecting area and ability to make long uninterrupted exposures provide highly sensitive observations.

Since Earth's atmosphere blocks out all X-rays, only a telescope in space can detect and study celestial X-ray sources. The XMM-Newton mission is helping scientists to solve a number of cosmic mysteries, ranging from the enigmatic black holes to the origins of the Universe itself. Observing time on XMM-Newton is being made available to the scientific community, applying for observational periods on a competitive basis.

Read more about the spacecraft, mirrors and instruments and about the XMM-Newton SOC.

News and Highlights

Unlocking the secrets of the first Quasars Unlocking the secrets of the first Quasars: how they defy the laws of Physics to grow 20-Nov-2024
New evidence has been discovered explaining how supermassive black holes formed in the first billion years of the Universe's life. The study, conducted by INAF researchers, analyses 21 distant quasars and reveals that these objects are in a phase of extremely rapid accretion. This provides valuable insights into their formation and evolution, together with that of their host galaxies.[...] The study, led by researchers of the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), analyses a sample of 21 quasars, among the most distant ever discovered, observed in the X-rays band by the XMM-Newton and Chandra space telescopes.
Further details on inaf.it web portal.

Quasi-periodic eruptions Quasi-periodic eruptions from eRO-QPE2 are remarkably stable, study finds 11-Nov-2024
An international team of astronomers has inspected long-term evolution of quasi-periodic eruptions (QPEs) from a QPE source designated eRO-QPE2. The study found that QPEs from this source are remarkably stable over the investigated period of over three and a half years. The finding was reported November 1 on the pre-print server arXiv.[...] Follow-up observations of eRO-QPE2 with ESA's XMM-Newton satellite have revealed that it exhibits QPEs with intrinsic luminosities oscillating between approximately 0.12 and 1.2 tredecillion erg/s in the 0.5–2-keV band.
Further details on Phys.org web portal.

AO-24 Closed 14-Oct-2024

XMM-Newton Announcement of Opportunity (AO-24) Closed

The XMM-Newton Twenty-fourth Announcement of Opportunity (AO-24) closed on the 11th of October 2024.

In total, 462 valid proposals were received. This Announcement of Opportunity covers a period of one year, with 12 Ms of observing time available for distribution. A total of 86.3 Ms of science time were requested. The over-subscription factor is 7.2.

A total of 36 proposals were received for Large Programmes, and 13 for Fulfil Programmes. Anticipated Target of Opportunity observations were requested in 65 proposals.

For the joint programmes, 94 proposals were submitted: 42 request time for the XMM-NuSTAR programme, 24 for the XMM-HST programme, 11 for the XMM-SWIFT programme, 10 for the XMM-VLT programme, 9 for the XMM-Chandra programme, 6 for the XMM-JWST programme, 10 for the XMM-NRAO programme and 1 for the MAGIC programme.

SOC received proposals from 381 different principal investigators from 32 countries. Considering principal investigators and co-investigators, about 1600 individual scientists were involved in the response to the Twenty-fourth Announcement of Opportunity.

New observations New observations shed more light on the nature of a millisecond pulsar binary 09-Sep-2024
Using ESA's XMM-Newton satellite, European astronomers have performed X-ray observations of a millisecond pulsar binary known as PSR J1431−4715. Results of the observational campaign, published September 3 on the pre-print server arXiv, provide more insights into the nature of this system.
Further details on Phys.org web portal.

AO-24 Opening 20-Aug-2024

XMM-Newton Announcement of Opportunity (AO-24)

Letter of Invitation by the ESA Director of Science

Dear Colleague,

I am pleased to invite you to respond to the 24th Announcement of Opportunity to submit proposals for observations to be performed with the XMM-Newton observatory.

This Announcement solicits proposals to be carried out between May 2025 and April 2026. Proposers from institutes located worldwide are welcome to participate. All proposals will be subject to peer review by the XMM-Newton Observing Time Allocation Committee.

The detailed schedule of milestones of the announcement, the required software tools and the documentation are available from

http://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/ao24

I would appreciate if you would distribute this invitation to interested colleagues. I wish you every success in using the XMM-Newton observatory.

Yours sincerely,
Prof. Carole Mundell
Director of Science

Key milestones for this announcement

Announcement of Opportunity 20 August 2024
Due date for Proposals 11 October 2024 (12:00 UT)
Final OTAC approved program late December 2024

 

Timeline for Phase II proposal submission

After the cycle of proposal submission and selection, the observation details for successful proposals must be entered into the observatory system. This is done during "Phase II" proposal submission.

Find below for your information the anticipated timeline for that eventual Phase II:

Start of Phase II proposal submission 8 January 2025
Closure of Phase II proposal submission 31 January 2025

 

Further details on the XMM-Newton SOC web portal.