The world's astronomers are eager to use XMM-Newton. Scientists are sure the mission will help solve many cosmic mysteries, ranging from enigmatic black holes to the formation of galaxies.
Many celestial objects generate X-rays in extremely violent processes.
But Earth's atmosphere blocks out these X-rays, messengers of what occurred in the distant past when stars were born or died, and clues to our future. Only by placing X-ray detectors in space can such sources be detected, pinpointed and studied in detail. XMM-Newton, the largest science satellite ever built in Europe, has an unprecedented sensitivity. What excites astronomers most is that the satellite's highly eccentric orbit, travelling out to nearly one third of the distance to the Moon, enable them to make very long and uninterrupted observations. Peering into deep space, XMM-Newton's science payload will considerably increase our knowledge of very hot objects created when the Universe was very young.