XMM is an X-ray space telescope with an unprecedented effective area. The largest XMM project is the XMM-XXL. XXL’s goal is to study the clusters of galaxies that are governed by the dark matter and dark energy and therefore reveal the mysteries of the dark side of the Universe. The XXL team consists of over 100 astronomers from around the world and recently released 13 papers, presenting their first results.
On 28th September, India launched their first satellite dedicated to astronomy, ASTROSAT. The satellite will study astrophysical phenomena over a wide range of the ElectroMagnetic spectrum. From visible and ultraviolet (UV) to X-rays and Gamma-rays. The aim of the observatory is to study star-birth regions and high-energy processes, such as binary star systems of neutron stars and black holes, as well as γ-ray bursts (video).
High Energy Astrophysics, i.e. X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy, is a very active domain in Europe with 26 institutes/universities involved. AHEAD is a project (Activities for the High Energy Astrophysics Domain) which objective is to integrate national efforts in this research area to keep the community at the cutting edge of science and technology.
