Credit: Ed Smith; The InFOCUS team; NASA
Sightseeing by Balloon
A telescope using brand-new, cutting edge technology had a successful maiden voyage last week. The telescope is named InFOCµs (for International Focusing Optics Collaboration for micro-Crab Sensitivity). InFOCµs uses
multilayer, thin foil x-ray reflectors, which are very light yet which provide large X-ray collecting areas and good spatial resolutions, along with new X-ray detector technology. The use of "multi-layer" foils allows imaging and spectrography of X-ray sources up to nearly 100 keV. InFOCµs was carried aloft on a high-altitude balloon for a 20-hour flight. High energy X-ray emission was detected from a number of sources, and the data are currently being analysed. The technology being pioneered by InFOCµs will be used in future X-ray satellite observatories, like Constellation-X.
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Page Author: Dr. Michael F. Corcoran
Last modified Tuesday, 27-Feb-2024 10:13:26 EST
