XMM-Newton News Archive - Year 2025

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11-April-2025
From boring to bursting: a giant black hole awakens
The European Space Agency's XMM-Newton is playing a crucial role in investigating unprecedented bursts of X-rays from a newly awakened black hole in the galaxy SDSS1335+0728. After being inactive for decades, the black hole suddenly began producing regular flashes of X-ray light in February 2024. These bursts, known as quasiperiodic eruptions (QPEs), are ten times longer and more luminous than typical QPEs, with a regular cadence of about 4.5 days. This rare event provides astronomers with a unique opportunity to study black hole behavior in real time and understand the mechanisms behind these powerful X-ray eruptions.
Further details on ESA.int web portal.

08-April-2025
Observations explore the persistent nature of X-ray binary 4U 0728-25
Using ESA's XMM-Newton satellite, Italian astronomers have observed a Galactic X-ray binary system known as 4U 0728-25. Results of the new observations, presented in a research paper published March 28 on the arXiv preprint server, shed more light on the persistent nature of this source. The system, located about 24,800 light-years away, comprises a Be star and a neutron star (pulsar) with a pulse period of approximately 103.3 seconds. The observations detected 4U 0728-25 at a luminosity level of 90 decillion erg/s (in the energy range 2–10 keV), which is the lowest level ever observed for this source since its discovery. The spectral analysis revealed the presence of a flux excess above the main power-law component, which can be described with a black body model with high temperature (about 1.5 keV) and small emission radius (some 240 meters).
Further details on Phys.org web portal.

1-April-2025
Into the X-ray Universe • Exploring Cosmic Secrets
Phenomena in the universe that are only visible in X-rays provide insights into the most extreme processes in the cosmos. Beyond the visible spectrum, high-energy events such as black holes, stellar explosions, and hot matter flows become observable. ESA’s XMM-Newton space telescope supplies the data for extensive sky surveys in the X-ray range. A key outcome of this work is a scientific catalogue based on automated source detection, which is regularly updated. Overlapping observations reveal temporal variability and lead to the discovery of previously unknown objects — a valuable resource for astrophysical research.
Further details on youtube.com.

13-March-2025
Astronomers discover new supergiant fast X-ray transient, expanding rare class
Using ESA's XMM-Newton satellite, Italian astronomers have identified a new supergiant fast X-ray transient (SFXT), designated 4XMM J181330.1-175110 (J1813). SFXTs are a rare subclass of high-mass X-ray binaries characterized by brief, intense X-ray flares lasting from minutes to over an hour, typically involving a compact object accreting material from the clumpy wind of a blue supergiant companion. J1813 was initially undetected during its quiescent state but exhibited multiple X-ray flares during an active phase, with peak luminosities (in the 2–12 keV band) ranging from 10 to 400 decillion erg/s. Analysis suggests that J1813 harbors a heavily absorbed B-type star with an effective temperature of approximately 32,000 K, located between 22,800 and 42,400 light-years away. This discovery expands the known population of SFXTs, providing further insights into these rare and enigmatic systems.
Further details on Phys.org web portal.

04-March-2025
X-ray signal from Helix Nebula points to planet destroyed by white dwarf
Using ESA's XMM-Newton satellite, astronomers have analyzed an unusual X-ray signal from the white dwarf WD 2226-210 at the center of the Helix Nebula. The study, published on March 4, 2025, suggests that the X-rays result from debris of a Jupiter-sized planet being pulled onto the white dwarf's surface, indicating the planet's destruction. This observation, along with data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, provides evidence of a planet being consumed by its star, offering insights into the fate of planetary systems as stars evolve.
Further details on Phys.org web portal.

28-Feb-2025
Astronomers Uncover Key Evidence for the Existence of Intermediate-Mass Black Hole
A team of Chinese researchers has detected, for the first time, an X-ray quasi-periodic signal from a tidal disruption event (TDE) involving an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH). Using ESA's XMM-Newton satellite, the researchers observed an 85-second oscillating X-ray signal from a previously suggested IMBH TDE candidate. The findings, published on February 28, 2025, in Nature Astronomy, provide crucial evidence supporting the existence of IMBHs — a missing link between stellar-mass and supermassive black holes. The black hole is estimated to have a mass between 9,900 and 16,000 solar masses, placing it within the predicted range for IMBHs. This discovery opens new possibilities for detecting and studying IMBHs through X-ray timing analysis of TDEs.
Further details on nao.cas web portal.

19-Feb-2025
Observations of Young Stellar Object HL Tauri Using XMM-Newton and Chandra
Using ESA's XMM-Newton satellite and NASA's Chandra X-ray observatory, astronomers have observed a young stellar object known as HL Tauri. Results of the observation campaign, presented Feb. 11 on the arXiv pre-print server, yield important insights into long-term X-ray variability and properties of this object. HL Tauri, located approximately 450 light-years away in the Taurus constellation, is a protoplanetary disk system that has garnered significant interest due to its potential for planet formation.
Further details on Phys.org web portal.

19-Feb-2025
The third version of the XMM-Newton slew survey catalogue (XMMSL3) is now out
The third version of the XMM-Newton slew survey catalogue, XMMSL3, has been released on 19th February 2025 by the XMM-Newton Survey Science Centre (XMM-SSC) in collaboration with the SOC. This version includes an extra 8.5 years of data with respect to XMMSL3. There are 140735 X-ray detections which relate to 116598 unique sources, doubling the number of detections available in the previous version, XMMSL2. These detections come from 3120 pn slew observations that were taken by the 23rd August 2023. This catalogue version covers more than 90% of the sky, where some regions of the sky have been pointed as many as 78 times. Around 8% of all the detections are classified as extended. The median positional uncertainty of the catalogue detections is 13 arcseconds. Mean fluxes in the catalogue are ~2.8E-12 and ~6.5E-11 erg/cm²/s in the soft (0.2-2 keV) and hard (2-12 keV) X-ray band, respectively.

Details of the catalogue, the catalogue files and full XMMSL3 documentation are available on the XMM-SSC webpages at:
     http://xmmssc.irap.omp.eu/Catalogue/XMMSL3/XMMSL3.html

FITS and CSV versions of the full XMMSL3 catalogue are also available for download at
     http://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/xsa

Alongside the XSA user interface, XMMSL3 is also distributed through:
The XMM-Newton XSA : http://nxsa.esac.esa.int/nxsa-web/#search
ESASky : https://sky.esa.int/esasky/
HEASARC Browse : http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/db-perl/W3Browse/w3browse.pl

Further details on our XMM-Newton SSC web portal.

06-Feb-2025
XMM-Newton finds two stray supernova remnants
When the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton pointed its telescope at two unidentified sources of light in the outskirts of the Large Magellanic Cloud, scientists were able to confirm what seemed an unlikely discovery. They found two supernova remnants in the far reaches of our neighbouring galaxy.
The two objects that XMM-Newton looked at are shown as the two circles in the lower left of this visible-light image of the Large Magellanic Cloud. Click on the two circles to make the newly-discovered supernova remnants appear: J0624-6948 (orange, higher in the image) and J0614-7251 (blue, lower in the image). The yellow crosses represent supernova remnants that had been found before.
Further details on esa.int web portal.

31-Jan-2025
Version 22.0 of the Science Analysis System (SAS) released
The XMM-Newton SAS team is pleased to announce the release of a new version of the SAS : SAS v22.0.

Binaries for diverse flavours of Linux and Mac OS X are available at
     https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/sas-download

The main improvements of this release can be found in the Release Notes:
     https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/sas-release-notes-2200

This version of SAS is released in three 64-bit binary versions for Linux (Ubuntu 22.04LTS, Ubuntu 24.04LTS and Red HAT 8.10), and two for macOS (13.6.9, Ventura and 14.6.1, Sonoma). A version for Red HAT 9 is intended to be released shortly.

SAS analysis threads have been revised to ensure compatibility with the recently released SAS v22.0. They are available at
     https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/sas-threads

Further details on our SAS web portal.

30-Jan-2025
The SOC together with its partners at NASA from the XMM-Newton Guest Observer Facility will be hosting its first virtual Data Analysis Workshop April 1-3, 2025!
This workshop, geared towards new and experienced users of XMM-Newton data, will
(1) highlight the diverse scientific studies that can be enabled by XMM-Newton,
(2) introduce beginners to the Science Analysis Software (SAS) and Extended Source Analysis System (ESAS) as well as the XMM-Newton Science Archive (XSA), and
(3) introduce beginners and experienced users alike to SciServer and Datalabs.
The workshop will be split between presentations and hands-on sessions, distributed over more than 12h duration, to allow participants in Europe as well as the US to attend at convenient times. The goal of the workshop is to improve the accessibility and usability of XMM-Newton data and its data reduction and analysis software, and to introduce the tools created for use with SciServer and Datalabs, which focus on making data reduction more accessible regardless of computing resources and expertise available at a given institution. Registration is open HERE and free of charge. To prepare for the workshop, please register for an ESA Datalabs account and familiarise yourself with the interface: REGISTER HERE. Please use the invitation code “XMM2025” when registering with Datalabs, so your account can be assigned to the workshop.
Further details on the dedicated UMBC web portal.

21-Jan-2025
X-ray observations uncover merger process in a nearby low-mass galaxy cluster
Using NASA's Chandra and ESA's XMM-Newton spacecraft, an international team of astronomers have performed X-ray observations of a nearby low-mass galaxy cluster designated PSZ2 G181.06+48.47. The observational campaign, detailed in a paper published Jan. 13 on the pre-print server arXiv, uncovers essential information regarding the nature and properties of this cluster.[...] With a mass of about 420 trillion solar masses, PSZ2 G181.06+48.47 is a low-mass galaxy cluster at a redshift of 0.24. It has a radius of approximately 3.45 million light years.
Further details on Phys.org web portal.

13-Jan-2025
Unlocking the secrets of the first Quasars: how they defy the laws of Physics to grow
The European Space Agency's XMM-Newton has detected rapidly fluctuating X-rays coming from the very edge of a supermassive black hole in the heart of a nearby galaxy. The results paint a fascinating picture that defies how we thought matter falls into such black holes, and points to a potential source of gravitational waves that ESA’s future mission, LISA, could see. XMM-Newton is showing us that black holes devour matter in more complex ways than astronomers first thought. Black holes are predictions of Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity. They are gravitational monsters that imprison any piece of matter or energy that crosses their ‘surface’, a region of spacetime known as the event horizon.
Further details on ESA.int web portal and Science.nasa.gov web portal.