A suborbital payload for soft X-ray spectroscopy of extended sources

Phillip H.H. Oakley, Randall L. McEntaffer, Webster Cash

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

We present a suborbital rocket payload capable of performing soft X-ray spectroscopy on extended sources. The payload can reach resolutions of ~100 (λ/ Δλ) over sources as large as 3. 25° in diameter in the 17-107 Å bandpass. This permits analysis of the overall energy balance of nearby supernova remnants and the detailed nature of the diffuse soft X-ray background. The main components of the instrument are: wire grid collimators, off-plane grating arrays and gaseous electron multiplier detectors. This payload is adaptable to longer duration orbital rockets given its comparatively simple pointing and telemetry requirements and an abundance of potential science targets.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)23-44
Number of pages22
JournalExperimental Astronomy
Volume31
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2011

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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