OPTIMA Campaign 2012 at Skinakas, Crete (2012-07-18 to 2012-08-19)
Objects: Simultaneous optical/X-ray observations of Galactic X-ray binaries binaries. GRB follow-up observations. Long-term studies of Polars
Instrument: This campaign at the 1.3 m telescope applied the OPTIMA-Burst hardware version that is used since 2007. Also the 2011 developed state of the art data processing and data storage software which enables online data analysis during measurements was used. Observers: Gottfried Kanbach, Arne Rau, Fritz Schrey, Robert Salamon, Aga Slowikowska
Observed Objects: AE Aqr, BL Lac, DQ Her, EQ Peg, HU Aqr, NN Ser, OT Lyr, V404 Cyg, (Aql X-1), 1RXS J184542+483134, NSVS14256825, HS2231+2441, WASP-21b, CLR2688, Swift J1910.2-0546 (MAXI J1910-057), CSS120813:203938-042908, CSS120812:221823+344509, PSR 0531+21 (Crab Pulsar)
The Skinakas Observatory has been in existence for 25 years and this was celebrated end of May on top of the Ida mountains. Founded in 1986 by the University of Crete, the Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas FORTH and the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, it is used both for the training of students and basic astronomical research.
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OPTIMA-burst Campaign 2011 at Skinakas (2011-06-15 to 2011-07-15)
Gottfried Kanbach, Arne Rau, Fritz Schrey, Aga Slowikowska, ....
Objects:
High time resolution photometry and polarimetry of Gamma Ray Bursts immediately after detection with the satellite Swift. Burst alert via internet.
Other Objects: .......
Instrument:
This campaign will apply the OPTIMA-Burst hardware version that is used since 2007. New this time is the newly developed state of the art data processing and data storage software which enables for the first time online data analysis during measurements.
(June 20, 2011)
OPTIMA-burst Campaign 2010 at Skinakas (2010-05-09 to 2010-07-30)
Gottfried Kanbach, Fritz Schrey, Helmut Steinle, Ilham Nasiroglu, Aga Slowikowska, Andrzej Szary, Bartek Gauza, Dainis Dravins, Hannes Jensen, Natalia Lewandowski Remote support: Alexander Stefanescu
Objects:
High time resolution photometry and polarimetry of Gamma Ray Bursts immediately after detection with the satellite Swift. Burst alert via internet.
TrES 3, BD_64_pol, GC 319, Aql X-1, BD+38 4058, HU Aqr, GP Com, AM CVn, Her X-1, KL Dra, SDSS J1702+3229, VB9, VB10, EV Lac, PSR J1744-1134, Mkn 501, SAX 2103.5+4545, GRO J2058+42, ....
(June 24, 2009)
OPTIMA-burst Campaign 2008 at Skinakas (2008-09-01 to 2008-11-07)
Alexander Stefanescu, Gottfried Kanbach, Fritz Schrey, Helmut Steinle (all MPE) Aga Slowikowska, Natalia Primak (University of Crete) Adria Updike (Clemson University), Natalia Lewandowski (Hamburger Sternwarte)
Objects:
High time resolution photometry and polarimetry of Gamma Ray Bursts immediately after detection with the satellite Swift. Burst alert via internet.
Surprising Flashes from a possible Magnetar Observations of optical flares reveal limits of established theories on magnetars
By means of the high-speed photometer OPTIMA of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), a team of MPE scientists might have detected an unexpected new sub-category of astronomical objects. It appears to be a magnetar with bursts in the visible part of the spectrum, in contrast to the X-ray and gamma flashes, which are considered to be characteristic for magnetars.
Einstein Probe satellite, a collaboration of, among others, the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), has captured an extraordinary celestial event: an X-ray outburst from a rare binary system. This discovery sheds new light on the evolution of massive stars and demonstrates the unique…
Einstein Probe has opened a new window onto the distant X-ray Universe, promising new views of the most faraway explosions in the cosmos. Less than three months after launch, the spacecraft already discovered a puzzling blast of X-rays that could require a change the way we explain the extraordinary explosions known as gamma-ray bursts.
Dr. Esra Bulbul, lead scientist for the eROSITA cluster science and cosmology working group at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), has been awarded the prestigious Mid-Career Award by the High Energy Astrophysics Division (HEAD) of the American Astronomical Society (AAS). This recognition highlights her pioneering…
A team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics has shed light on one of the most elusive components of the universe: the warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM). This "ghost" form of ordinary matter, long hypothesized but rarely detected, is thought to account for a significant portion of the universe's missing baryons…
Our Solar System dwells in a low-density environment called the Local Hot Bubble (LHB), filled by a tenuous, million-degree hot gas emitting dominantly in soft X-rays. A team led by scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) used the eROSITA All-Sky Survey data and found a large-scale temperature gradient in this…
Dr. Matthias Kluge from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) has received the 2024 Ludwig Biermann Award from the German Astronomical Society. This award recognizes his significant contributions to astrophysics, especially his pioneering research on galaxy clusters. Kluge's efforts with the eROSITA telescope on the SRG…
Identifying massive black holes in low-mass galaxies is crucial for understanding black hole formation and growth over cosmic time but challenging due to their low accretion luminosities. Astronomers at MPE, led by Riccardo Arcodia, used the eROSITA X-ray telescope's all-sky survey to study massive black hole candidates selected based on…
Odd radio circles (ORC), a recently identified new class of extended faint radio sources, have captivated the curiosity of astronomers worldwide. A groundbreaking discovery by a team led by the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics unveils the first detection of diffuse X-ray gas in the vicinity of the Cloverleaf ORC. Leveraging the…
The X-ray satellite “Einstein Probe” of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) was launched successfully from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China on a Long March-2C rocket on January 9th, 2024. Equipped with cutting-edge X-ray mirrors and detectors, with major contributions from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE)…
A new all-sky map by the eROSITA telescope reveals X-rays emitted by million-degree hot plasma in and around the Milky Way. Analysing this data, the team at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics found that the very hot, ionized gas shows a disk-like distribution similar to the stellar disk, possibly embedded in a much larger…
