XMM-Newton-NEWS


XMM-Newton-NEWS  #91,    13-May-2009

XMM-Newton Science Operations Centre at
ESA's European Space Astronomy Centre,
P.O. Box - Apdo. 78, 28691 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain

SOC Home Page: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/
Helpdesk web interface: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/xmm-newton-helpdesk
Helpdesk email address: xmmhelp@sciops.esa.int
News Mailing List: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/newsletter

Contents:


Professor Martin Turner DSc, CBE

It is with great regret that we have learned of the untimely death of Professor Martin Turner DSc, CBE. Martin was a hugely influential figure in the field of X-ray astronomy and is the EPIC Principal Investigator.

Please see:

    http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/physics-and-astronomy/news/professor-martin-turner-dsc-cbe

XMM-Newton AO-8 long-term plan

The scheduling of the eighth cycle of XMM-Newton observations, AO-8, started in May 2009 and is expected to finish at the end of April 2010. On May 13, the long-term scheduling plan for the AO-8 period has been released at:

    https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/long-term-plan

Principal Investigators of pending XMM-Newton observations are encouraged to check this plan, especially if scheduling constraints were granted following the Time Allocation Committee recommendations. All observers should be aware that, as flexibility is required in the scheduling process, the long term plan only fills about 50% of the available observing time, using some 50% of the approved observations. Consequently about 50% of the approved observations do not appear in the long term plan. The final observing plan is only available some two to four weeks in advance of the start of an XMM-Newton revolution. It is intended to follow the long term plan as closely as possible. The XMM-Newton SOC nevertheless reserves the right to modify the plan at any stage of the scheduling process, should this become necessary.

XMM-Newton Users Group meeting #10:
presentations available

The XMM-Newton Users Group met on the 6th and 7th of May 2009 at ESAC. Please find the presentations of this meeting at:

    https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/users-group

Minutes of the meeting will be published on the same page and announced via another XMM-Newton Newsletter.

Conference "X-ray Astronomy 2009: Present status, multiwavelength approach, and future perspectives":
deadline for abstract submission

As announced in issue #86 of the XMM-Newton Newsletter, the conference

"X-ray Astronomy 2009: Present status, multiwavelength approach, and future perspectives"

will be held on 2009 September 7-11 in Bologna, Italy. The meeting will highlight the contributions of XMM-Newton, Chandra and Suzaku observatories over the last ten years and celebrate the International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009). Major observational and theoretical aspects of X-ray emission from a wide range of cosmic sources will be addressed. Emphasis will be given to multiwavelength studies of cosmic sources and associated synergies with major facilities at all wavelengths, and on the perspectives for future high-energy astrophysics missions.

Deadline for registration and abstract submission is May 15, 2009.

See the conference website for more information:

    http://www.iasfbo.inaf.it/events/xray2009/index.php

Conference Announcement:
"Chandra's First Decade of Discovery"

The following science conference:

"Chandra's First Decade of Discovery"

will be held on September 22-25 2009 at the Seaport Hotel, Boston, US.

This will be the fifth symposium in a series highlighting unique imaging and spectroscopic results from NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory. This event will celebrate key science results from the first ten years of operation of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The focus will be on results which have had the largest impact on Astrophysics, including: The Cosmic Evolution of AGN, AGN outflows, evolutionary processes in clusters of galaxies, source populations and diffuse emission from normal galaxies, physical processes at the Galactic center, high spatial and spectral studies of neutron star physics, supernova remnants and star forming regions. Recent results from the XMM-Newton, Suzaku, Fermi, Swift, INTEGRAL, RXTE and AGILE missions, as well as related theoretical results will also be covered.

The day before the start of this conference, the Chandra Calibration Review will take place at the same hotel.

More information is available at:

    http://cxc.harvard.edu/symposium_2009/index.html

Deadline for abstract submission is July 10th 2009.


Yours sincerely,
XMM-Newton SOC