Credit: MPE
X-raying the Universe
During the first six months of its life, the ROSAT X-ray space telescope
scanned the sky with its X-ray camera, the Position Sensitive Proportional
Counter, to obtain the first (and currently only) X-ray image of the entire
universe. The image above was compiled from this "X-ray All Sky
Survey" produced by the Max-Planck-Institut für
extraterrestrische Physik (MPE); it shows the variation of temperature
of some of the hottest material in the universe, at temperatures between 1
and 20 million degrees. The ROSAT all sky survey is a unique accomplishment
and an incredibly rich resource for astronomers. Using these data, for the
first time, astronomers could see in full the large X-ray structures in the
Milky Way Galaxy, and in other galaxies; could get a nearly complete
measurement of bright X-ray sources, including stars in all stages of
evolution, and neutron stars and black holes too; could see the shape and
brightness of the "diffuse X-ray background", the high energy emission
which seems to surround us, and whose origin is still mysterious (but see
the recent Chandra
results about this!); and could use the shape of the X-ray emission to
trace the hidden material making up most of the known Universe.
Last Week *
HEA Dictionary * Archive
* Search HEAPOW
* Education
Each week the HEASARC
brings you new, exciting and beautiful images from X-ray and Gamma ray
astronomy. Check back each week and be sure to check out the HEAPOW archive!
Page Author: Dr. Michael F.
Corcoran
Last modified June 14, 2001
