The Invisible Sky : Rosat and the Age of X-Ray Astronomy

- 7 Astronomy is not confined to the exploration of the "courage of omission" and concentrate on those visible sky: Since the fifties, scientists have opened areas that can be conveyed without substantial more and more new windows to the universe, prerequisites; but we have tried to take into making it possible to study numerous new aspects account all crucial aspects and have striven for of cosmic events. factual correctness. We also used this courage The German science satellite ROSAT, circling of omission when personal contributions of the Earth since June I, 1990, is an important milestone investigators working with ROSAT were involved. on this road. Its data have provided us not While we mention scientists by name in the only with a complete survey of the x-ray sky in historical chapters, we preferred to attribute all several colors, but also with important insights ROSAT results to the satellite itself, as it were­ into normal and exotic cosmic objects. It can be otherwise, the list of names would have grown too said without exaggeration that the entirety of these long, and the danger of forgetting one or the other data has changed our view of the world in which would have been too high. We have tried to find words to describe the we live. The x-ray satellite ROSAT, launched in 1990, has made a new universe visible. It has discovered over 120,000 x-ray sources and allowed us for the first time to look in new ways at stellar explosions, galactic collisions, extremely compact pulsars, black holes, and quasars that shine 10,000 times more strongly than the brightest galaxy. It has detected x-rays from Comet Hyakutake and from the Moon. ROSAT is one of the most successful scientific instruments ever launched. In The Invisible Sky, two of the scientists who were instrumental in the design and launching of the satellite team up with a well-known science journalist to chronicle the beginnings, early failures, planning and construction, and deployment of this most famous of x-ray observatories. They describe the cutting-edge science being done with it and show many of the most spectacular color images it has generated. This beautifully illustrated book is the first to describe for lay readers one of the most rmearkable instruments in modern astronomy. ROSAT, the ROentgen SATellite launched in 1990, has revealed an entirely new aspect of the night sky - that of objects emitting X-rays rather than the rays of light visible to the human eye. This lavishly illustrated book is the first to describe one of the most remarkable instruments in modern astronomy. It offers fascinating images and engaging accounts of a wide range of Solar-System and deep space objects such as Comet Hyakutake, the Sun, the Moon, and objects outside the Milky Way. Front Matter....Pages 1-7 Introduction....Pages 9-16 The History of X-Ray Astronomy....Pages 17-35 ROSAT-Creating a Satellite....Pages 37-65 X-Ray Astronomy in Our Galaxy....Pages 67-134 X-Ray Astronomy Outside Our Galaxy....Pages 135-167 Back Matter....Pages 169-175