China prepares for flagship X-ray space observatory

BEIJING -The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) declared Friday that it would start to make preparations for a new flagship X-ray space observatory for the research of black holes, neutron stars and quark stars.

The enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry (eXTP) satellite, a successor to the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT) launched in mid June last year, is expected to bring China to a leading level in the world's X-ray astronomy between 2025 to 2035, said Zhang Shuangnan, principal investigator of eXTP from the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP).

HXMT, China's first X-ray space telescope with a broad energy band from 1 to 250 keV, can help scientists better understand the evolution of black holes, and the strong magnetic fields and the interiors of pulsars.

"Since we have developed excellent technology and talent in X-ray astronomy, it's highly possible that we can take a leading role in this field if we keep pursuing it with more advanced detection instruments," Zhang said.

According to the astrophysicist, the new X-ray space observatory, designed to consist of a large-area spectroscopic focusing array, a large-area collimator array, a sensitive polarimetry focusing array and a wide field monitor, is expected to have a much better comprehensive performance than previous X-ray astronomic satellites.

[ Editor: Liu Jiaming ]
 

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