Astronomy:Einstein Probe
![]() Einstein Probe artist impression | |
Names | Aiyinsitan Tanzhen |
---|---|
Mission type | Space observatory |
Operator | CAS, ESA |
COSPAR ID | 2024-007A |
SATCAT no. | 58753 |
Website | ep |
Mission duration | 3 years (planned) 6 months and 12 days (ongoing) |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft | Einstein Probe |
Bus | Phoenix-Eye-2 |
Manufacturer | CAS |
Launch mass | 1,450 kg (3,200 lb)[1] |
Dimensions | 3 × 3.4 m (9.8 × 11.2 ft) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 9 January 2024, 07:02 UTC[2] |
Rocket | Long March 2C[2] |
Launch site | Xichang LC-3 |
Contractor | CASC |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
Regime | Low Earth orbit |
Perigee altitude | 581 km |
Apogee altitude | 596 km |
Inclination | 29° |
Period | 96 minutes |
Instruments | |
Wide-field X-ray Telescope (WXT) Follow-up X-ray Telescope (FXT) | |
![]() Einstein Probe Logo |
The Einstein Probe (EP) is an X-ray space telescope mission by Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in partnership with European Space Agency (ESA) and the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) dedicated to time-domain high-energy astrophysics.[3][4] The primary goals are "to discover high-energy transients and monitor variable objects".[5]
Scientific objectives
The primary science objectives are:[6]
- Identify inactive black holes to study how matter is precipitated there by detecting the transient events that take the form of X-ray flares;
- Detect the electromagnetic counterpart of events triggering gravitational waves such as the merger of neutron stars which will be discovered by the next generation of gravitational wave detectors;
- Carry out permanent monitoring of the entire sky to detect the various transient phenomena and carry out measurements of known variable X-ray sources.
Instruments
Einstein Probe carries 2 scientific instruments: the Wide-field X-ray Telescope (WXT), and the Follow-up X-ray Telescope (FXT).[7] Both telescopes utilize X-ray focusing optics.
- Wide-field X-ray Telescope (WXT): WXT has a new optics design, called "lobster-eye", that has wider field of view.[4][7] "Lobster-eye" optics was first tested by the Lobster Eye Imager for Astronomy (LEIA) mission, launched in 2022.[4][8][9] WXT consists of 12 Lobster-eye optics sensor modules, together creating a very large instantaneous field-of-view of 3600 square degrees. The nominal detection bandpass of WXT is 0.5~4.0 keV. Each module weighs 17 kg and has an electrical power consumption of just under 13 W. With the peripherals, the entire telescope weighs 251 kg and has a power consumption of 315 W.
- Follow-up X-ray Telescope (FXT): FXT has optics adopted from eROSITA, "the mirror module consists of 54 nested Wolter mirrors with a focal length of 1600 mm and an effective area of greater than 300 cm2 at 1.5 keV."[7]
The probe weights 1450 kg and is 3-by-3.4 metres.[4]
Launch
Einstein Probe was launched on 9 January 2024, at 07:03 UTC by a Long March 2C rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in China, and successfully placed in low Earth orbit at an altitude of 600 km.[2]
See also
- Timeline of artificial satellites and space probes
- List of things named after Albert Einstein
- X-ray astronomy
References
- ↑ "Einstein Probe factsheet". ESA. https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Einstein_Probe_factsheet.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Einstein Probe lifts off on a mission to monitor the X-ray sky". https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2024/01/Einstein_Probe_lifts_off_on_a_mission_to_monitor_the_X-ray_sky.
- ↑ "Einstein Probe in a nutshell" (in en). https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2023/12/Einstein_Probe_in_a_nutshell.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Einstein Probe factsheet" (in en). https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Einstein_Probe_factsheet.
- ↑ "Einstein Probe Time Domain Astronomical Information Center". https://ep.bao.ac.cn/ep/.
- ↑ "Science Objectives Overview" (in en). https://ep.bao.ac.cn/ep/cms/article/view?id=19.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "EinsteinProbe" (in en). https://www.mpe.mpg.de/7867826/EinsteinProbe.
- ↑ "Einstein Probe Time Domain Astronomical Information Center". https://ep.bao.ac.cn/ep/cms/article/view?id=91.
- ↑ Jones, Andrew (November 25, 2022). "China tests novel 'lobster eye' X-ray telescope for observing cosmic events". https://www.space.com/china-lobster-eye-x-ray-telescope-1st-images.
Further reading
- Yuan, Weimin; Zhang, Chen; Chen, Yong; Ling, Zhixing (2022). "The Einstein Probe Mission". pp. 1–30. arXiv:2209.09763.
External links
- Einstein Probe at ESA.int
- Einstein Probe at MPE.MPG.de
![]() | Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstein Probe.
Read more |