EXOSAT light curve of AM Her AM Her displays a strong variable soft X-ray flux in this EXOSAT observation which is anticorrelated with the hard (higher temperature) X-rays. The eclipse of the soft X-rays for a large fraction of the 3.1 hour binary cycle is due to the occultation of the X-ray emitting pole cap by the white dwarf star itself. The hard X-rays are produced by a shock within the accretion column and are only modulated when the column cuts across our line of sight. Diagrams courtesy of Julian Osborne, EXOSAT Observatory, taken from Figure 10-4a in Charles and Seward. Search for an Image: (Enter the name of an object.) Additions or Comments: Have we left anything out? Is there something you would like to have added to this page (a link to your own group's research page, for example...)? IMAGES | By Mission | Stars | Cataclysmic Variables | X-ray Binaries | Pulsars | Supernova Remnants & Planetary Nebulae | Galaxies | Active Galactic Nuclei | Clusters and Groups of Galaxies | X-ray/gamma-ray Background & Deep Fields | Solar System Objects | Gamma Ray Bursts HEASARC Home | Observatories | Archive | Calibration | Software | Tools | Students/Teachers/Public Last modified: Thursday, 26-Jun-2003 13:48:44 EDT