XMM-Newton-NEWS


XMM-Newton-NEWS  #102,    19-Jan-2010

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:


Version 2.0 of the XMM-Newton SSC products specifications document released

A revised version of the XMM-Newton Survey Science Centre (SSC) products specifications document has been issued by the SSC and made available on the XMM-Newton Proposer's Info and Manuals web page at:

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

under the subsection 'Data Handling'.

The 'Specifications for individual SSC data products' is the reference document describing the individual XMM-Newton SSC data product files. It is intended to be of use to scientists analysing XMM-Newton data.

Anticipated timeline for next XMM-Newton Announcement of Opportunity

The planned key milestones for the tenth XMM-Newton "Announcement of Opportunity" have been established. Within this AO-10 a new call to submit proposals for observations to be performed with the XMM-Newton observatory will be issued.

To be prepared for this, please find below the anticipated timeline:

Announcement of Opportunity24 August 2010
Due date for proposals08 October 2010 (12:00 UT)
Final OTAC approved programme  mid December 2010

For approved proposals only:

Start of phase II proposal submission10 January 2011
Closure of phase II proposal submission  04 February 2011
Start of AO-10 observationsMay 2011

The official "Announcement of Opportunity" will be made public in the XMM-Newton News and on the XMM-Newton Science Operations Centre home page.

Meeting announcement: 5th International Astronomical Consortium for High Energy Calibration

The International Astronomical Consortium for High Energy Calibration (IACHEC; http://web.mit.edu/iachec) is a working platform where scientists involved in the calibration of high-energy instruments coordinate their work. The IACHEC aims to provide standards for high energy calibration and to supervise cross calibration between different missions. This goal is reached through working groups, where IACHEC members cooperate to define calibration standards and procedures.

The next IACHEC meeting will take place from the 12th to the 15th of April at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole (Massachusetts, U.S.A.).

IACHEC welcomes contributions from the whole high-energy astrophysics community. Colleagues wishing to attend the 5th IACHEC meeting are requested to fill the pre-registration form available from the meeting web page ( http://web.mit.edu/iachec/meetings/index.html) by the 10th of March 2010.

Announcement of the 38th COSPAR Scientific Assembly, Symposium E19

The Symposium E19 of the 38th Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Scientific Assembly:

     "New Insights into the Physics of Supernova Remnants and Pulsar Wind Nebulae"

will be held from the 18th to the 25th of July, 2010 in Bremen, Germany.

As the most significant source of chemical enrichment and energy input in the interstellar medium, supernova remnants (SNRs) offer us a most valuable laboratory to study heavy element nucleosynthesis, particle acceleration at fast shocks, and the physics of the extreme associated with neutron stars (NSs) and associated pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe).

The symposium will focus on the latest multi-wavelength studies, which include X-ray data from XMM-Newton, Chandra and Suzaku, coupled with theoretical modeling and simulations and will address the physics of SNRs and their association and interaction with PWNe and NSs.

Deadline for abstract submission is 19th of February, 2010.

More information is available at:

    http://www.physics.umanitoba.ca/~samar/COSPAR2010E19/

Workshop announcement: 460th WE-Heraeus Seminar: "Black Holes"

The 460th Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Seminar: "Black Holes" will be held from the 6th to the 11th of June, 2010 in Bad Honnef, Germany.

The last decade has witnessed rapid progress in the astrophysical study of black holes. Within the next ten years, ground-based gravitational wave detectors like LIGO and VIRGO will begin making regular observations of merging stellar-mass black holes out to redshifts of ~0.3. Future space-based observatories like IXO will measure X-rays from the first accreting massive black holes in the Universe, while LISA will detect gravitational waves from coalescing supermassive black hole binaries throughout the Universe. A key goal of this seminar is to bring together researchers in the fields of gravitational wave and electromagnetic astronomy, and to provide a forum for lively discussions, with an emphasis on the electromagnetic and gravitational wave signatures of strong gravity.

Deadline for registration is 10th of March, 2010.

More information is available at the workshop website at:

     http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/~skomossa/Heraeus460/




Yours sincerely,
XMM-Newton SOC