Nine centers from five countries form this initiative that aims to improve the scientific products associated with the XMM-Newton and Athena observatories
UC Editorial, June 16, 2021
Researchers from the Institute of Physics of Cantabria (IFCA, a joint center of the University of Cantabria and CSIC) are participating in the European project XMM2Athena, aimed at improving the scientific products resulting from the European Space Agency (ESA) missions XMM-Newton and Athena. Both are X-ray space observatories that allow researchers to collect data at this wavelength, something impossible from the ground because the atmosphere shields us from them, and to observe aspects of the universe that are still unknown, mainly very hot or energetic phenomena such as those occurring near black holes.
Launched in 1999, XMM-Newton has been used for more than two decades to observe astronomical objects that emit X-rays and will be joined by Athena, which is scheduled for launch in the early 2030s. Francisco J. Carrera, Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the UC and IFCA researcher, and Maite Ceballos, CSIC researcher at IFCA, explain that thanks to the XMM2Athena project "we will improve the scientific products that we develop with a consortium of other European institutes of the XMM-Newton observatory and we will prepare for the launch of the Athena mission".
The IFCA group will work with eight other partners from five countries - Spain, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Greece - under the coordination of the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). The initiative "XMM2Athena: XMM-Newton a pathfinder for future multiwavelength and multi-messenger observations with Athena", part of the Horizon 2020 Program, started in April and will last a total of three years, with a total funding of almost 2 million euros.
X-ray astronomical research consists of observing objects that emit at this wavelength, which "tells us many interesting things about the nature of sources themselves and about the universe in which we live", says Francisco J. Carrera. X-rays make it possible to identify stellar outbursts from active stars, supernova explosions, neutron stars, white dwarfs, galaxy clusters and even auroras in planets or comets.
"These observations cannot be made from the ground because the atmosphere that protects us from radiation like that of the sun also protects us from X-rays coming from the Universe", explains Maite Ceballos. "We need to take satellites out of our atmosphere, in orbit with the earth, to be able to pick up those signals".
Coming from very hot and energetic places in the Universe, such as gas at millions of degrees or material falling into a black hole, these sources are catalogued and we study how much they emit at each wavelength and how much they change over time, revealing "different aspects from what can be seen with any other wavelength", according to Carrera. The project is also aimed at preparing new computer applications to process the "much better" data to be produced by the Athena mission.
Francisco J. Carrera and Maite Ceballos, at IFCA.
Scientific dissemination
In addition to the responsibility for purely scientific production, the IFCA team leads and coordinates the project's communication work package. "We are responsible for making it work in two ways: among the scientists themselves and to society, transmitting the results that are produced and carrying out active education", says Maite Ceballos. "This implies a communication of results and products to the project website, to social networks, through talks and open days, student visits, communications to schools...".
This involves putting together communication strategies and participating in international campaigns, as well as in events such as the Day of Women and Girls in Science, the European Researchers' Night or, for example, Space Week, which is held in October and this year is dedicated to female researchers for space. "There is a special sensitivity with participation of women in science and the promotion of scientific vocations from a very early age, and this is a point on which we want to have a special impact", adds the researcher.
