Abstract for Proposal 096372
ToO XMM/EPIC Observations of Interstellar Objects
Researchers have yet to reconcile the nature of 1I/?Oumuamua, the first
macroscopic interstellar object detected as it passed through the Solar
System. E.g., its non-Keplerian accelerations are at odds with the
non-detection of any extended coma (ruling out outgassing of typical
cometary volatiles) and prompts consideration of exotic ices such as H2
or N2 for its composition. It has now been shown that solar wind charge
exchange would have produced an X-ray bright coma for any sublimating
body (Cabot et al. 2023). We thus request 75 ksec of XMM time to observe
the next interstellar object and discern whether it exhibits an extended
SWCX coma. A photometric X-ray detection, or lack thereof, would place
immediate observational constraints on the exotic ice composition of
interstellar objects
Details on Observing Strategy and Trigger Criteria