Reflected glory: moon shines in X-rays.Reflected glory: Moon shines in X-rays Nearly three decades after their initial attempt, astronomers have obtained the first X-ray image of the moon. The crescent outline of the first-quarter moon -- glimpsed through one of two telescopes aboard ROSAT ROSAT Roentgen Satellite , the German-British research satellite launched by NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. on June 1 -- glows brightly as it reflects x-rays striking its surface from the sun's corona. The dark side of the moon blocks diffuse X-ray background The observed X-ray background is thought to result from, at the "soft" end (below 0.3 keV), Galactic X-ray emission (the "galactic" X-ray background), and, at the "hard" end (above 0. radiation, visible in this 1,000-second exposure as white dots in the surrounding sky area. The X-ray background, believed to come from distant sources, shows a uniform distribution. ROSAT scientist Ken Pounds, of the University of Leicester History The University was founded as Leicestershire and Rutland College in 1918. The site for the University was donated by a local textile manufacturer, Thomas Fielding Johnson, in order to create a living memorial for those who lost their lives in World War I. in England, says X-ray images of the solar system solar system, the sun and the surrounding planets, natural satellites, dwarf planets, asteroids, meteoroids, and comets that are bound by its gravity. The sun is by far the most massive part of the solar system, containing almost 99.9% of the system's total mass. may one day become commonplace as astronomers begin "prospecting"--detailing the chemical components of planets and asteroids This is a list of numbered minor planets, nearly all of them asteroids, in sequential order. As of late September 2007 there are 164,612 numbered minor planets, and many more not yet numbered. Most asteroids are ordinary and not particularly noteworthy. by bouncing X-ray beams off their surfaces and analyzing the reflected radiation with space-borne detectors. This lunar image, released late last month, is one of the first produced by ROSAT as the craft maps sources throughout the universe that emit X-rays and extreme ultraviolet radiation -- wavelengths that cannot penetrate Earth's atmosphere. Astronomers first tried to capture the moon's X-ray image in 1962 with a rocket-borne instrument. ROSAT's sky survey began July 30 and is expected to continue through January 1991; the satellite will then focus on individual targets for the remainder of its seven- to 10-year mission. |
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