The XMM-Newton General Observer Facility

What is XMM-Newton?

XMM-Newton, the X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission, is the second cornerstone of the Horizon 2000 program of the European Space Agency (ESA). XMM-Newton was launched on December 10 1999 at 14:32 GMT (09:32 EST). The observatory consists of three coaligned high throughput 7.5m focal length telescopes with 6 arc second FWHM (15 arc second HPD) angular resolution.

XMM-Newton images over a 30 arc minute field of view with moderate spectral resolution. There are 3 imaging cameras: the European Photon Imaging Camera (EPIC) observes in the 0.3-12 keV band and consists of two MOS and one PN CCD arrays, resulting in high collecting area and low risk through operational redundancy. High-resolution spectral information (λ/Δλ ~ 100-500 from 5-38 Å (0.35-2.5 keV)) is provided by the Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS), which deflects half of the beam of the two X-ray telescopes with the MOS cameras at their primary focus. The observatory also has a coaligned 30 cm optical/UV telescope, the Optical Monitor (OM), which can provide either photometry or spectroscopy. Under normal operations, all three instruments -- EPIC, RGS, and OM -- operate simultaneously. This produces remarkably, and uniquely, rich data sets. XMM-Newton is the only observatory, currently active or planned, with such capabilities.

XMM-Newton has enabled ground-breaking science in a broad range of topics, from the very distant (such as accretion near black holes, evaporation of exoplanet atmospheres, and measurement of the baryon budget in galaxy clusters) to our own backyard (such as Jupiter's aurorae and the solar wind).

Detailed information on the instruments can be found in the XMM-Newton Users' Handbook.

What is the General Observer Facility?

Besides having funded elements of the XMM-Newton instrument package, NASA also provides the NASA General Observer Facility (GOF) at the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and funds a General Observer (GO) program to support the use of XMM by the U.S. scientific community. The GOF provides a clearing house for project-generated technical information and analysis software as well as budget support for U.S. astronomers who apply for XMM-Newton observation time. Here is only a small sampling of current GOF projects.

• The U.S. GOF plays a vital role in the building, compilation, and maintanence of the XMM data processing software, the Science Analysis System (SAS). It also supports U.S. GOs in their installation and use of SAS.
• The U.S. GOF has developed accurate and precise algorithms for modeling the EPIC particle background in the Extended Source Analysis Software (ESAS) SAS tools.
• The U.S. GOF continues to modernize and simplify data reduction by making python wrappers and Jupyter Notebooks for SAS.
• The U.S. GOF is pioneering data processing and analysis in the cloud through its work with Johns Hopkins University's SciServer.
• The U.S. GOF operates a Help Desk and maintains several guides, both for using SAS and for post-processing analysis in packages like Xspec and Sherpa. These are aimed at users with different levels of familiarity with X-ray data, from complete novices to experts.

These pages are intended for members of the scientific community. For members of the general public, or those interested in general astronomy/astrophysics information, please visit the HEASARC's Education and Public Information site.

Observers: If you have an XMM grant and you need a No Cost Extension (NCE), please be careful to make your request before the expiration date.

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The Mission Comparison Table:

Helping you choose the right mission for your research!

In response to user requests and the 2019 Senior Review, the GOF has assembled the table below in order to help students and scientists who might want to propose for time, but are unfamiliar with the available high-energy missions. XMM instruments and their specifications, when relevant to the researcher's interests, are in blue. Other missions and their relevant specifications are in orange. Links to potentially useful webpages are given.

Please note that this is intended as a general pointer, and potential PIs should first carefully consider their science and each missions' strengths and weaknesses before making any decisions.

I want to do...	I should look at...	Energy range	Timing Resolution	Spectral Resolving Power (E/ΔE or λ/Δλ)	Angular Resolution	Field of View	All Sky Monitoring
Imaging
imaging in a large field of view, in soft-medium energy X-rays, with moderate spectral resolution (no gratings/calorimeters)
	XRISM/Xtend	0.4-12 keV	...	~30 at 6 keV	≤1.7' (Half Power Diameter)	≥30'x30'	no
	Chandra/ACIS-I	~1-10 keV	0.2-10.0 s (3.2 s nominal)	10-20	0.5''	16.9'x16.9'	no
	XMM/EPIC	0.3-12 keV	≤ 2.6 s	~ 20-50	4.1''	33'x33'	no
imaging in a large field of view, in hard energy X-rays, with moderate spectral resolution (no gratings/calorimeters)	NuSTAR	3-79 keV	~1 ms	25-76	18''	≤ 10'	no
imaging, in medium energy X-rays, with high angular resolution	Chandra/ACIS-S	~1-10 keV	0.2-10.0 s (3.2 s nominal)	15-40	0.5''	8.3'x8.3'	no
optical/UV photometry	Neil Gehrels Swift UVOT	1800 - 6000 Å	0.5 s	< 150	~1''	~17'	no
	XMM/OM	1800 - 6000 Å	0.5 s	~ 180	~1''	~17'	no
Spectroscopy
spectroscopy, in soft energy X-rays, with high spectral resolution	Chandra/LETG-HRC-S	0.08-10 keV	~10 ms in default mode; 16μs in HRC-S Imaging mode, center segment only	≥1000 for λ=50-160 Å, ~20xλ=3-50 Å	...	3.4'x99'	no
	XMM/RGS	0.35-2.5 keV	2.6 s	100-500	...	5'	no
spectroscopy, in medium energy X-rays, with high spectral resolution	Chandra/HETG-ACIS-S	~1-10 keV	3.2 s	65-1070	...	8.3'x50.6'	no
	XRISM/Resolve	0.3-12 keV	≤ 1 ms	~1200 at 6 keV	≤ 1.7' (Half Power Diameter)	2.9'x2.9'	no
	XMM/RGS	0.35-2.5 keV	2.6 s	100-500	...	5'	no
optical/UV spectroscopy	Neil Gehrels Swift UVOT	1800 - 6000 Å	0.5 s	< 150	~1''	~17'	no
	XMM/OM	1800 - 6000 Å	0.5 s	~ 180	~1''	~17'	no
Something Else
X-ray timing studies	NICER	0.2-12 keV	300 ns	~100-400	5'	30'x30'	no
	XMM/EPIC	0.3-12 keV	0.03 ms, up to 0.007 ms	~20-50	4.1''	33'x33'	no
a search for γ-ray transients	Fermi	8 keV - 300 GeV	2 μs	~10-20	< 3 degrees	<9.5 steradians	yes
a search for X-ray transients	Neil Gehrels Swift	0.2 - 10 keV	2.2 ms	~50	18''	23.6'x23.6'	yes

Latest News - Rev. 4523 XMM-Newton AO-24 Results Released (12 Dec 2024) The list of XMM-Newton observing proposals accepted by the AO-24 Observing Time Allocation Committee is now available. XMM-Newton AO-24 Solicitation Released (20 Aug 2024) XMM-Newton observing proposals are solicited in response to the 24th Announcement of Opportunity. XMM-Newton Serendipitous Source Catalogue: 4XMM-DR14 Released (9 Jul 2024) 14th release of the 4XMM Serendipitous Source Catalogue [What is this?] More News Useful Links Contact Us Sign up for the newsletter Send email to the Help Desk How to reach the Users Group Observers Information *** ToO Status *** *** ToO Notification *** Observation Search Page Grant Recipients Information How to file a Summary of Research Report How to ensure public access to publications and data How to transfer and/or rebudget your grant Request a No Cost Extension (NCE) Archives and Catalogs XMM-Newton Master Log & Public Archive XMM-Newton Serendipitous Sky Survey Catalog (4XMM DR14 version) XMM-Newton Slew Survey Catalog (v. 2.0) XMM-Newton OM Serendipitous UV Source Suvey Catalog (SUSS6.1) Data Reduction Software (SAS,ESAS), Scripts, and Documentation Getting Started with SAS on SciServer XMM-ESAS Cookbook Updated MOS1 FWC CalDB file for ESAS The XMM-Newton ABC Guide, Streamlined The XMM-Newton ABC Guide The Absolute Beginner's Guide to XMM Data Simulation and Analysis Threads