Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

CTOnews.com, December 25, according to the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the first official release of SATech-01, a space technology test satellite of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was recently published online. Using the first light tested in orbit by Leia, the EP-WXT pathfinder "Lobster Eye Astronomical Imager" carried on the satellite, scientists have successfully obtained a number of real large field-of-view X-ray images and energy spectra of celestial bodies.

The National Astronomical Observatory said that this is the first time that the results of large field of view X-ray focusing imaging have been obtained and released publicly. This result indicates that our country has taken the lead in mastering the X-ray lobster eye focusing imaging technology, and successfully realized the in-orbit experimental verification. The first batch of results were published in the famous international journal "Astrophysics KuaiBao" under the title of "large field of view X-ray observation of the first lobster eye focusing telescope".

The ▲ Chinese Academy of Sciences Space Technology Test Satellite (SATech-01) and the Laya Lobster Eye Telescope were successfully launched in Jiuquan on July 27, 2022 aboard the Lijian 1 rocket. The picture from the Chinese Academy of Sciences shows that the field of view of the traditional X-ray focusing telescope is very small, usually less than 1 degree. The concept of microporous lobster eye imaging was put forward more than 40 years ago, which can realize X-ray focusing imaging with large field of view. Although the photon receiving area is much smaller than the traditional telescope, the lobster eye telescope has the advantage of large field of view and can monitor the activities of celestial bodies in a large sky area at the same time. It is the next generation equipment pursued by X-ray time-domain astronomy. However, due to the difficulties in development, this goal has not been achieved for a long time. In the past two decades, several famous space science institutions and laboratories in the world have been carrying out the research and development of microporous lobster eye technology. The team led by Zhang Chen and Ling Zhixing of the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has carried out the research and development of the technology since 2011. Through independent innovation, they have mastered the principle and application of the technology and have completely independent intellectual property rights. With the support of the National Natural Science Foundation and the Chinese Academy of Sciences Astronomical Joint Fund, the National Astronomical Observatory cooperated with Northern Night Vision Group Co., Ltd. to break through the key technologies and develop the leading microporous lobster eye device. With the support of the special project of the space science leader of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the National Astronomical Observatory has successfully developed a lobster eye focusing lens, and a complete wide-field X-ray telescope has been developed by the Shanghai Institute of Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which is used as an experimental module for the WXT payload of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Einstein probe (EP) satellite. The key components of the equipment, including the lobster eye focusing mirror and the focal plane detector composed of large array CMOS sensors, are independently developed by our country. This is the first time in the world that the innovative CMOS of Chinese scientists has been applied to space X-ray astronomical exploration.

On July 27 this year, the experimental module (later named Leia) was launched on board the Space New Technology Test Satellite (SATech-01) developed by the Institute of Micro Satellite Innovation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. As an EP satellite WXT pathfinder, Leia's field of view can reach 340sq. (18.6x18.6o). It is the first wide-field X-ray focusing telescope in the world. Its field of view is at least 100 times larger than that of traditional focusing telescopes in the world.

CTOnews.com learned that the EP Satellite Science Center of the National Astronomical Observatory used Leia's on-orbit test observations to obtain a number of large field-of-view X-ray images and energy spectra of celestial bodies for the first time. The results show that X-ray sources in multiple directions, including black holes and neutron star X-ray binaries, can be detected in a single observation (about 13 minutes). At the same time, the information of the variation of X-ray radiation intensity with time and the X-ray energy spectrum of these celestial bodies can also be obtained from the data. The observed results are highly consistent with the simulation results.

▲ figure 2: Leia's X-ray image (left) and ground simulation image (right) obtained from a single observation of the central sky region of the Milky way galaxy. The observation time of the left and right images is both 798s, the energy range is 0.5-4 keV, and the field of view is 18.6 degrees x 18.6 degrees. (the source marked 4U 1826-24 on the left is a brightened neutron star X-ray binary.) after the in-orbit test was completed, Leia has carried out more than three months of in-orbit calibration experiments and some scientific observations, and began to achieve preliminary scientific results. For example, Leia discovered a super X-ray flare of a star and guided NASA's SWIFT and NICER space telescopes to track observations; detected the afterglow of the brightest gamma-ray bursts to date; and completed the mapping of the all-day X-ray sky map of 1 gamma-ray burst. Leia will carry out routine scientific observations in the future, and it is expected that a complete all-sky X-ray sky map will be obtained every six months, new X-ray temporary objects and explosive objects will be discovered, and the search for gravitational wave X-ray counterparts will be carried out.

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