|
|
Q:
How does Chandra and Rossi compare or differ from one
another?
A:
The Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE), as the name suggests,
is designed to study the time variations of cosmic X-ray
sources on time scales ranging from microseconds to months.
Its instruments cover an energy range from 2 to 250
kilovolts, compared to the 0.2 to 10 kilovolt range of
Chandra. A major difference is that RXTE has no focusing
X-ray mirrors, so it cannot make X-ray images. It is best
used to study the time variations in bright X-ray sources in
binary stars systems containing black holes and neutrons
stars, for which it has provided a wealth of valuable
information. In addition, RXTE carries an All-Sky Monitor
that scans about 80% of the sky every orbit, allowing
monitoring at time scales of 90 minutes or longer.
 For more information see:
http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/xte/XTE.html.
http://chandra.harvard.edu/xray_astro/history3.html
Back | Index | Next
|
