UK XMM Information Centre

This site is intended to complement ESA's own on-line information about the XMM observatory. It provides resources for prospective observers from the UK astronomical community and information about the mission for interested members of the public.

The UK XMM Information Centre draws upon the expertise of the two main UK participants in the XMM project, the University of Leicester (EPIC-MOS camera and the Survey Science Centre [SSC]) and the Mullard Space Science Laboratory (Optical Monitor [OM], Reflection Grating Spectrometer [RGS] and the SSC).

General Information about the XMM project and the instruments on board the spacecraft.

Information for prospective observers including all documentation available for AO-1.

Groups in the UK involved with building XMM.

XMM sites at ESA (the European Space Agency).

• An overview of the XMM observatory; its characterstics, instrumentation and aims of the mission.
  
• A description of the science and the latest astrophysical topics and controversies that will be investigated using XMM.
  
• A schematic diagram of XMM illustrating how the separate instruments make up the observatory.
  
• A more detailed look at the instrumentation on XMM (via links from the schematic), including photographs and diagrams of the separate components.
  
• Picture board and tasks of the UK XMM Information Centre Team.

• Information which was made available for the first Announcement of Opportunity (AO-1) has been retained here, although the deadline passed on the 16th April 1999.
  
• Proposal tools for prospective observers
  
• The XMM User's Handbook is the official, definitive guide to the instrumentation on the spacecraft.
  
• Additional XMM resources in the form of links to other sites and documentation.
  
• ESA's XMM Helpdesk provides further support for prospective observers about the mission and its instrumentation.
  

• The EPIC X-ray camera at Birmingham University
  
• EPIC at Leicester University
  
• The XMM Survey Science Centre at Leicester
  
• The Optical Monitor at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory
  
• The Reflection Grating Spectrometer at MSSL
  
• The SSC at MSSL
  

• The latest news and images of XMM from ESA are available here at ESA's official XMM web site.
  
• Further information about the XMM project from the ESA Science Operations Centre.
  

This site written and maintained by  Tim Roberts  at the  University of Leicester XRA group  and  Liz Puchnarewicz  and Encarni Romero Colmenero at  MSSL . Last updated: Tue June 22nd 1999