The Constellation-X Observatory

Jay Bookbinder; Randall Smith; Anne Hornschemeier; Michael Garcia; Nicholas White; Harvey Tananbaum; Robert Petre; Suzanne Romaine; Paul Reid

doi:10.1117/12.796906

16 July 2008 The Constellation-X Observatory

Jay Bookbinder, Randall Smith, Anne Hornschemeier, Michael Garcia, Nicholas White, Harvey Tananbaum, Robert Petre, Suzanne Romaine, Paul Reid

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7011, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2008: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray; 701102 (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.796906
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2008, Marseille, France

Abstract

The Constellation-X Observatory is currently planned as NASA's next major X-ray observatory to be launched towards the end of the next decade. The driving science goals for the mission are to: 1) Trace the evolution of Black Holes with cosmic time and determine their contribution to the energy output of the Universe; 2) Observe matter spiraling into Black Holes to test the predictions of General Relativity; 3) Use galaxy clusters to trace the locations of Dark Matter and follow the formation of structure as a function of distance; 4) Search for the missing baryonic matter; 5) Directly observe the dynamics of Cosmic Feedback to test models for galaxy formation; 6) Observe the creation and dispersion of the elements in supernovae; and 7) Precisely constrain the equation of state of neutron stars. To achieve these science goals requires high resolution (R > 1250) X-ray spectroscopy with 100 times the throughput of the Chandra and XMMNewton. The Constellation-X Observatory will achieve this requirement with a combination of four large X-ray telescopes on a single satellite operating in the 0.25 to 10 keV range. These telescopes will feed X-ray micro-calorimeter arrays and grating spectrometers. A hard X-ray telescope system will provide coverage up to at least 40 keV. We describe the mission science drivers and the mission implementation approach.

Citation Download Citation

Jay Bookbinder, Randall Smith, Anne Hornschemeier, Michael Garcia, Nicholas White, Harvey Tananbaum, Robert Petre, Suzanne Romaine, and Paul Reid "The Constellation-X Observatory", Proc. SPIE 7011, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2008: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 701102 (16 July 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.796906

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available