XMM-Newton-NEWS

CONTENTS

• XMM-Newton Users Handbook update for AO-19
• SAS Users Guide updated
• XMM-Newton Users' Group: minutes of meeting and presentations available
• XMM-Newton Conference: The X-Ray Universe 2020
• ESA Research fellowship in space science at ESAC

XMM-NEWTON USERS HANDBOOK UPDATE FOR AO-19

The XMM-Newton Users Handbook (UHB) has been updated to version 2.17 in preparation for the next Announcement of Opportunity (AO-19) which will open next 20th of August.

The UHB contains information on the instrumentation on board XMM-Newton and serves as the main technical support document for proposal preparation, based on which potential XMM-Newton users can assess the technical feasibility of their planned observations.

The XMM-Newton Users Handbook is on-line at

     https://xmm-tools.cosmos.esa.int/external/xmm_user_support/documentation/uhb
 

Alternatively, pdf and postscript versions of the UHB can be downloaded from the "XMM-Newton Proposer's Info and Manuals" portal

     https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/documentation
 

SAS USERS GUIDE UPDATED

The Users Guide to the XMM-Newton Science Analysis System has been updated for SAS version 18.0 in order to include the latest information on data analysis methods and updated SAS tasks.

The guide is available from the XMM-Newton Proposer's Info and Manuals Web page (Section: Data Analysis) at

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

The html version of the SAS Users Guide can be accessed directly under

     https://xmm-tools.cosmos.esa.int/external/xmm_user_support/documentation/sas_usg/USG/
 

As announced in Newsletter #221, Data Analysis Threads are already revised and in-line with SAS v18.0, see

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

XMM-NEWTON USERS' GROUP: MINUTES OF MEETING AND PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE

The XMM-Newton Users' Group met on the 7th and 8th of May 2019 at ESAC. The minutes of the meeting, together with the presentations, can be found at

     https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/users-group
 

XMM-NEWTON CONFERENCE: THE X-RAY UNIVERSE 2020

The XMM-Newton Science Operations Centre is organising a major astrophysical symposium

    from Monday 25th to Friday 29th May 2020 

as an ESLAB Conference, to take place at the European Space Agency ESA/ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands. This symposium is the sixth international meeting in the series "The X-ray Universe". The aim of the symposium is to have discussions on a broad range of topics in X-ray astrophysics. The meeting will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the launch of XMM-Newton.

The conference web page

     https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/2020-symposium
 

contains more information and will be kept up-to-date. More details will be announced later this year.

ESA RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP IN SPACE SCIENCE AT ESAC

Postdoctoral fellowships in the area of Astronomy and Astrophysics related to the X-ray observatory XMM-Newton are tenable at the XMM-Newton Science Operations Centre in the European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) located in Villafranca del Castillo, near Madrid, Spain.

The deadline for applications is 1st October 2019

The European Space Agency awards several postdoctoral fellowships each year. The aim of these fellowships is to provide scientists in the early stage of their career, holding a PhD or the equivalent degree, with the means of performing space science research in fields related to the ESA Science Programme. Candidates not holding a PhD yet are encouraged to apply, but they must provide evidence of receiving their degree before starting the fellowship. The fellowships have a duration of two years, with a possible third year extension. Applications are now solicited for fellowships to begin in autumn 2020.

Working at ESAC within the XMM-Newton team gives the unique opportunity of being in contact with the scientists working in calibration and community support, and with the developers of the science analysis software and the pipeline.

Research opportunities with XMM-Newton science staff include, among other, studies of the high energy emission of novae, X-ray binaries, galaxies, and AGN using XMM-Newton data, see e.g.

     https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/esac-science-faculty/groups-agn
 

, and

     https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/esac-science-faculty/accretion-group/
 

Please contact Norbert Schartel (Norbert.Schartel_at_sciops.esa.int) for more details on ESA Research Fellowships related to XMM-Newton.

More information on the ESA Research Fellowship programme in Space Science, on the conditions and eligibility, as well as the application form can be retrieved from

     http://cosmos.esa.int/fellowship
 

Yours sincerely,

XMM-Newton SOC