X-ray Evaluation of the Marshall Grazing Incidence X-Ray Spectrometer (MaGIXS) Nickel-Replicated Mirrors

X-ray observations of astronomical objects provides diagnostics not available in any other wavelength regime, however the capability of making these observation at a high spatial resolution has proven challenging. Recently, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has made good progress in employing computer numerical control (CNC) polishing techniques on electroless nickel mandrels as part of our replicated grazing incidence optics program. CNC polishing has afforded the ability to deterministically refine mandrel figure, thereby improving mirror performance. The Marshall Grazing Incidence X-ray Spectrometer (MaGIXS) is a MSFC-led sounding rocket instrument that is designed to make the first ever soft x-ray spectral observations of the Sun spatially resolved along a narrow slit. MaGIXS incorporates some of the first mirrors produced at MSFC using this polishing technique. Here we present the predicted mirror performance obtained from metrology, after completion of CNC polishing, as well as the results of X-ray tests performed on the MaGIXS telescope mirror before and after mounting

Properties of the Chandra Sources in M81

The Chandra X-ray Observatory obtained a 50-ks observation of the central region of M81 using the ACIS-S in imaging mode. The global properties of the 97 x-ray sources detected in the inner 8.3x8.3 arcmin field of M81 are examined. Roughly half the sources are concentrated within the central bulge. The remainder are distributed throughout the disk with the brightest disk sources lying preferentially along spiral arms. The average hardness ratios of both bulge and disk sources are consistent with power law spectra of index Gamma~1.6 indicative of a population of x-ray binaries. A group of much softer sources are also present. The background source-subtracted logN-logS distribution of the disk follows a power law of index ~ -0.5 with no change in slope over three decades in flux. The logN-logS distribution of the bulge follows a similar shape but with a steeper slope above ~4.0e+37 ergs/s. There is unresolved x-ray flux from the bulge with a radial profile similar to that of the bulge sources. This unresolved flux is softer than the average of the bulge sources and extrapolating the bulge logN-logS distribution towards weaker sources can only account for 20% of the unresolved flux. No strong time variability was observed for any source with the exception of one bright, soft source.Comment: 5 pages, 3 color PS figures, to appear in ApJ

Full-Shell X-Ray Optics Development at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) maintains an active research program toward the development of high-resolution, lightweight, grazing-incidence x-ray optics to serve the needs of future x-ray astronomy missions such as Lynx. MSFC development efforts include both direct fabrication (diamond turning and deterministic computer-controlled polishing) of mirror shells and replication of mirror shells (from figured, polished mandrels). Both techniques produce full-circumference monolithic (primary + secondary) shells that share the advantages of inherent stability, ease of assembly, and low production cost. However, to achieve high-angular resolution, MSFC is exploring significant technology advances needed to control sources of figure error including fabrication- and coating-induced stresses and mounting-induced distortions

X-ray Evaluation of the MaGIXS Nickel-Replicated Mirrors

No abstract availabl

First Images from HERO: A Hard-X-Ray Focusing Telescope

We are developing a balloon-borne hard-x-ray telescope that utilizes grazing incidence optics. Termed HERO, for High-Energy Replicated Optics, the instrument will provide unprecented sensitivity in the hard-x-ray region and will achieve milliCrab-level sensitivity in a typical 3-hour balloon-flight observation and 50 microCrab sensitivity on ultra-long-duration flights. A recent proof-of-concept flight, featuring a small number of mirror shells captured the first focused hard-x-ray images of galactic x-ray sources. Full details of the payload, its expected future performance and its recent measurements are provided

The First Flight of the Marshall Grazing Incidence X-ray Spectrometer (MaGIXS)

The Marshall Grazing Incidence X-ray Spectrometer (MaGIXS) sounding rocket experiment launched on July 30, 2021 from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. MaGIXS is a unique solar observing telescope developed to capture X-ray spectral images, in the 6 - 24 Angstrom wavelength range, of coronal active regions. Its novel design takes advantage of recent technological advances related to fabricating and optimizing X-ray optical systems as well as breakthroughs in inversion methodologies necessary to create spectrally pure maps from overlapping spectral images. MaGIXS is the first instrument of its kind to provide spatially resolved soft X-ray spectra across a wide field of view. The plasma diagnostics available in this spectral regime make this instrument a powerful tool for probing solar coronal heating. This paper presents details from the first MaGIXS flight, the captured observations, the data processing and inversion techniques, and the first science results.Comment: 20 pages, 18 figure

Characteristics of Kepler Planetary Candidates Based on the First Data Set: The Majority are Found to be Neptune-Size and Smaller

In the spring of 2009, the Kepler Mission commenced high-precision photometry on nearly 156,000 stars to determine the frequency and characteristics of small exoplanets, conduct a guest observer program, and obtain asteroseismic data on a wide variety of stars. On 15 June 2010 the Kepler Mission released data from the first quarter of observations. At the time of this publication, 706 stars from this first data set have exoplanet candidates with sizes from as small as that of the Earth to larger than that of Jupiter. Here we give the identity and characteristics of 306 released stars with planetary candidates. Data for the remaining 400 stars with planetary candidates will be released in February 2011. Over half the candidates on the released list have radii less than half that of Jupiter. The released stars include five possible multi-planet systems. One of these has two Neptune-size (2.3 and 2.5 Earth-radius) candidates with near-resonant periods.Comment: Paper to accompany Kepler's June 15, 2010 data release; submitted to Astrophysical Journal Figures 1,2,& 3 revised. Improved labeling on all figures. Slight changes to planet frequencies in result

The First Flight of the Marshall Grazing Incidence X-Ray Spectrometer (MaGIXS)

The Marshall Grazing Incidence X-ray Spectrometer (MaGIXS) sounding rocket experiment launched on 2021 July 30 from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. MaGIXS is a unique solar observing telescope developed to capture X-ray spectral images of coronal active regions in the 6–24 Å wavelength range. Its novel design takes advantage of recent technological advances related to fabricating and optimizing X-ray optical systems, as well as breakthroughs in inversion methodologies necessary to create spectrally pure maps from overlapping spectral images. MaGIXS is the first instrument of its kind to provide spatially resolved soft X-ray spectra across a wide field of view. The plasma diagnostics available in this spectral regime make this instrument a powerful tool for probing solar coronal heating. This paper presents details from the first MaGIXS flight, the captured observations, the data processing and inversion techniques, and the first science results