off topic...
this is the first thread where martian2 is polite n m really loving reading his posts
on topic...
even india is planning to send an polar X-ray telescope in 2014....now heres the best part...its in a race with nasa for this...nasa too is sending a similar telescope...
ISRO is in a race with NASA over putting X-ray telescope in space - Bangalore - DNA
pls do lemme know about telescopes china is sending in next 2-3 years...
would love it...m sure china must be having plans for it
whats the difference between Polix (indian), Gems (american) and HXMT??
Chinese HXMT covers hard x-rays. American GEMS covers soft x-rays.
Chinese HXMT studies hard x-rays.
American GEMS studies soft x-rays.
Indian Polix is only at the proposal stage. I don't think it has been approved yet. It will be smaller and less capable than American GEMS if built (see citation below).
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HXMT satellite for space hard X-ray observation
"adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2002cosp...34E..16W
by Y Wu - 2002 - Related articles
HXMT satellite for space hard X-ray observation. Authors: Wu, Y.; Ren, D.; You, Z. Publication: 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly, The Second World Space ..."
Krawczynski group receives NASA grant to spy on black holes | Newsroom | Washington University in St. Louis
"news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/23162.aspx
Jan 6, 2012 – It will be flown at roughly the same time as another mission,
GEMS, a satellite-borne instrument sensitive to “soft” X-rays, with energies between ..."
Hard X-Rays
"hesperia.gsfc.nasa.gov/sftheory/xray.htm
Hard x-rays are the highest energy x-rays, while the lower energy x-rays are referred to as soft x-rays. The distinction between hard and soft x-rays is not well ..."
Reference for Indian Polix:
http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/r...over-putting-x-ray-telescope-in-space_1640006
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China announces HXMT to be first astronomy satellite
China's prototype of the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (i.e. HXMT) satellite.
The HXMT has been thoroughly tested. China's first space-based telescope is currently ready and scheduled for launch in 2014 (see
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=5060.900).
iTWire - China announces HXMT to be first astronomy satellite
"
China announces HXMT to be first astronomy satellite
By William Atkins
The Xinhua News Agency, the official Chinese news agency, has announced that the Chinese space agency is planning a [2014] launch of a space telescope to study x-ray sources such as black holes and neutron stars.
...
The dedicated astronomy mission, called Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT), is being built to perform a collimated hard x-ray (HX) survey of the entire sky with both high spatial resolution and high sensitivity.
The energy range of hard x-rays is about 20 to 200 kiloelectron-Volts (keV). Hard x rays have more energy than soft x rays (SX). For instance, when medical x rays are produced, a metallic sheet is placed in front of the x-ray machine so the soft x rays are filtered out and only the more energetic hard x rays reach the patient. Generally, x rays are a type of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths of between 10 to 0.1 nanometers (where one nanometer equals one billionth of a meter).
The HXMT mission was selected in 2000 as a project under the Major State Basic Research Program of China. In October 2005, HXMT entered the full design phase and was listed as a possible candidate for the first dedicated astronomy satellite."
HXMT
"
Science Aims
The hard X-ray band is a key waveband for high energy astrophysics studies. Exploring various kinds of black holes is a major frontier of physics and astronomy in the new century. Hard X-rays originate mostly from regions close to black holes and are highly penetrating, and are therefore important tools for studying the physical processes in the extreme conditions such as high matter density, high energy density, high electric-magnetic field, and high gravitational field.
As a hard X-ray telescope with excellent sensitivity and spatial resolution, HXMT will have the following observational targets:
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An all-sky hard X-ray survey. To create a high precision hard X-ray sky map and to discover about 1000 new hard X-ray sources including possible new types of objects.
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Active galactic nuclei (AGN). The energy source of AGNs remains a mystery. It is probably from the interaction of massive black holes with the surrounding materials. HXMT will systematically study the hard X-ray emission properties and mechanism of various types of AGNs, especially the type II AGNs that are thought to be extremely absorbed.
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X-ray binaries. An X-ray binary involves a compact object (a black hole or a neutron star) and a normal star. HXMT will observe the hard X-ray spectra and temporal variability of X-ray binaries, study the formation and evolution of accretion disks, jets and black holes, and further test various general relativistic effects.
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Supernova remnants (SNRs). SNRs are longly thought to be the producer of cosmic-rays up to the 1015 eV. HXMT will study the nonthermal X-ray emission properties of SNRs and explore the particle acceleration at the shock front.
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Soft Gamma-ray burst Repeater (SGR). SGR are thought to be high energy transient sources associated with young highly magnetized neutron stars. The bursts are probably corresponding to the sudden magnetic energy release caused by the cracking of the neutron star crusts. HXMT can study the structure of magnetars, the matter state equation in strong magnetic field and with high density.
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Clusters of galaxies. Clusters of galaxies are the largest systems that are bounded gravitationally in the universe. HXMT will study the hard X-ray emission of clusters of galaxies and explore their origin.
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Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). GRBs are the most violent explosions is the universe, and explaining their origin is a serious challenge to astrophysics. GRBs can be also used to explore the early universe."
