Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-14T20:09:07.043Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The X-ray Astronomy Satellite SAX

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

R.C. Butler*
Affiliation:
Piano Spaziale Nazionale, CNR, Rome, Italy

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The SAX satellite is forseen for launch at the end of 1992 to study the X-ray emission from galactic and extra-galactic sources in the energy range 0.1-200 keV. The payload consists of four concentrator/spectrometer systems (3 units 1-10keV, 1 unit 0.1-10keV), a high pressure gas scintillation proportional counter (3-120keV), a phoswich scintillation counter (15-200keV), and two wide field cameras (2-30keV). Together these instruments will perform the following:-

  1. - Broad band spectroscopy (E/ΔE=12) in the energy range 0.1-10 keV with imaging resolution of 1 arcmin

  2. - Continuum and cyclotron line spectroscopy (E/ΔE=5-20) in the wide energy range 3-200 keV

  3. - Variability studies of bright source energy spectra on time scales from milliseconds to days and months

  4. - Systematic long term source variability studies in selected regions of the sky down to a source intensity of 1 mCrab.

Type
8. Future X-ray Observatories
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

References

Citterio, O., et al. 1988, Applied Optics, 27, 1470.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perola, G.C., 1988, Cospar XXVII, Helsinki, in the press.Google Scholar
Perola, G.C., 1983, Proc. of Workshop on Non-thermal and Very High Temperature Phenomena in X-ray Astronomy, eds. Perola, G.C., and Salvati, M., Rome, 19-20 December 1983, p. 175.Google Scholar
Spada, G.P., 1983, ibid.Google Scholar