Publication Date:
2019-07-13
Description:
In the half century since the initial discovery of an astronomical (non-solar) x-ray source, the sensitivity for detection of cosmic x-ray sources has improved by ten orders of magnitude. Largely responsible for this dramatic progress has been the refinement of the (grazing-incidence) focusing x-ray telescope. The future of x-ray astronomy relies upon the development of x-ray telescopes with larger aperture areas (greater than 1 m2) and finer angular resolution (less than 1.). Combined with the special requirements of grazing-incidence optics, the mass and envelope constraints of space-borne telescopes render such advances technologically challenging.requiring precision fabrication, alignment, and assembly of large areas (greater than 100 m2) of lightweight (approximately 1 kg m2 areal density) mirrors. Achieving precise and stable alignment and figure control may entail active (in-space adjustable) x-ray optics. This paper discusses relevant programmatic and technological issues and summarizes progress toward active x-ray telescopes.
Keywords:
Astronomy
Type:
M11-1524
,
M12-2031
,
M12-2148
,
The International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE) 2012; Aug 12, 2012 - Aug 16, 2012; San Diego, CA; United States
Format:
application/pdf
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