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Register a new userThe Puzzling Detection of X-rays From Pluto by Chandra
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Using Chandra ACIS-S, we have obtained imaging Xray spectrophotometry of the Pluto system in support of the New Horizons flyby on 14 July 2015. 174 ksec of observations were obtained on 4 visits in Feb 2014 to Aug 2015. We measured a net signal of 6.8 counts and a noise level of 1.2 counts in a comoving 11 x 11 pixel box (100 x 100 R_Pluto) in the 0.31 to 0.60 keV passband for a detection at > 99.95 C.L. The Pluto photons do not match the background spectrum, are coincident with a 90% flux aperture comoving with Pluto, and are not sky source confused. The mean 0.31 to 0.60 keV Xray power from Pluto is 200 MW, in the midrange of Xray power levels seen for known solar system emission sources: auroral precipitation, solar Xray scattering, and charge exchange (CXE) between solar wind (SW) ions & atmospheric neutrals. We eliminate auroral effects as a source, as Pluto has no known magnetic field & the New Horizons Alice UV spectrometer detected no airglow from Pluto during the flyby. Nano-scale atmospheric haze particles could lead to enhanced resonant scattering of solar X-rays from Pluto, but the energy signature of the detected photons does not match the solar spectrum and estimates of Plutos scattered Xray emission are > 100 times below the 3.9e-5 cps found in our observations. CXE emission from SW carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen ions can produce the energy signature seen, and the 6e25 neutral gas escape rate from Pluto deduced from New Horizons data can support the 3.0e24 Xray photons/sec emission rate required by our observations. Using the SW proton density and speed measured by the Solar Wind Around Pluto (SWAP) instrument in the vicinity of Pluto at the time of the photon emissions, we find too few SW minor ions flowing into the 11 x 11 pixel box centered on Pluto than are needed to support the observed emission rate unless the SW is significantly focused and enhanced in this region.
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We report the discovery of variability in the X-ray emission from the Wolf-Rayet type star WR 65. Using archival Chandra data spanning over 5 yr we detect changes of the X-ray flux by a factor of 3 accompanied by changes in the X-ray spectra. We believe that this X-ray emission originates from wind-wind collision in a massive binary system. The observed changes can be explained by the variations in the emission measure of the hot plasma, and by the different absorption column along the binary orbit. The X-ray spectra of WR 65 display prominent emission features at wavelengths corresponding to the lines of strongly ionized Fe, Ca, Ar, S, Si, and Mg. WR 65 is a carbon rich WC9d star that is a persistent dust maker. This is the first investigation of any X-ray spectrum for a star of this spectral type. There are indications that the dust and the complex geometry of the colliding wind region are pivotal in explaining the X-ray properties of WR 65.
On January 10 and 13, 2001, Venus was observed for the first time with an X-ray astronomy satellite. The observation, performed with the ACIS-I and LETG/ACIS-S instruments on Chandra, yielded data of high spatial, spectral, and temporal resolution. Venus is clearly detected as a half-lit crescent, with considerable brightening on the sunward limb. The morphology agrees well with that expected from fluorescent scattering of solar X-rays in the planetary atmosphere. The radiation is observed at discrete energies, mainly at the O-K_alpha energy of 0.53 keV. Fluorescence radiation is also detected from C-K_alpha at 0.28 keV and, marginally, from N-K_alpha at 0.40 keV. An additional emission line is indicated at 0.29 keV, which might be the signature of the C 1s --> pi* transition in CO2 and CO. Evidence for temporal variability of the X-ray flux was found at the 2.6 sigma level, with fluctuations by factors of a few times indicated on time scales of minutes. All these findings are fully consistent with fluorescent scattering of solar X-rays. No other source of X-ray emission was detected, in particular none from charge exchange interactions between highly charged heavy solar wind ions and atmospheric neutrals, the dominant process for the X-ray emission of comets. This is in agreement with the sensitivity of the observation.
The Pluto system was recently explored by NASAs New Horizons spacecraft, making closest approach on 14 July 2015. Plutos surface displays diverse landforms, terrain ages, albedos, colors, and composition gradients. Evidence is found for a water-ice crust, geologically young surface units, surface ice convection, wind streaks, volatile transport, and glacial flow. Plutos atmosphere is highly extended, with trace hydrocarbons, a global haze layer, and a surface pressure near 10 microbars. Plutos diverse surface geology and long-term activity raise fundamental questions about how small planets remain active many billions of years after formation. Plutos large moon Charon displays tectonics and evidence for a heterogeneous crustal composition, its north pole displays puzzling dark terrain. Small satellites Hydra and Nix have higher albedos than expected.
Observations made during the New Horizons flyby provide a detailed snapshot of the current state of Plutos atmosphere. While the lower atmosphere (at altitudes <200 km) is consistent with ground-based stellar occultations, the upper atmosphere is much colder and more compact than indicated by pre-encounter models. Molecular nitrogen (N$_2$) dominates the atmosphere (at altitudes <1800 km or so), while methane (CH$_4$), acetylene (C$_2$H$_2$), ethylene (C$_2$H$_4$), and ethane (C$_2$H$_6$) are abundant minor species, and likely feed the production of an extensive haze which encompasses Pluto. The cold upper atmosphere shuts off the anticipated enhanced-Jeans, hydrodynamic-like escape of Plutos atmosphere to space. It is unclear whether the current state of Plutos atmosphere is representative of its average state--over seasonal or geologic time scales.
We report the detection of X-ray emission from the symbiotic star V1329 Cyg with XMM-Newton. The spectrum from the EPIC pn, MOS1 and MOS2 instruments consists of a two-temperature plasma with k T = 0.11 keV and k T = 0.93 keV. Unlike the vast majority of symbiotic stars detected in X-rays, the soft component of the spectrum seems to be absorbed only by interstellar material. The shock velocities corresponding to the observed temperatures are about 300 km/s and about 900 km/s. We did not find either periodic or aperiodic X-ray variability, with upper limits on the amplitudes of such variations being 46 % and 16 % (rms), respectively. We also did not find any ultraviolet variability with an rms amplitude of more than approximately 1 %. The derived velocities and the unabsorbed nature of the soft component of the X-ray spectrum suggest that some portion of the high energy emission could originate in shocks within a jet and beyond the symbiotic nebula. The lower velocity is consistent with the expansion velocity of the extended structure present in HST observations. The higher velocity could be associated with an internal shock at the base of the jet or with shocks in the accretion region.
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