IXO Animations

In order to focus X-rays onto a detector, the mirrors must be shaped like barrels so that the X-rays strike them at very shallow grazing angles, just like pebbles skipping across a pond. Click the image to run the animation

IXO uses the Moveable Instrument Platform (MIP) that holds instruments and rotates them into the focus. Click the image to run the animation

To achieve high-resolution spectroscopy, IXO will equipped with an array of wavelength-dispersive diffraction gratings with a fine pitch of 5000 lines/mm or more. This will intercept the converging X-ray beam exiting by the Flight Mirror Assembly (FMA) and disperse it to a series of CCD detectors located on the Moveable Instrument Platform (MIP). For more information, refer to "Fabrication and performance of blazed transmission grating", Ralf K. Heilmann et al., SPIE, 2008Click the image to run the animation

XMS spectroscopic capability provides extraordinary sensitivity to absorption features, via iron Kα and many other metal species. XMS and will be uniquely powerful in revealing conditions in the immediate vicinity of the supermassive black holes, including black-hole driven winds. Click the image to run the animation

WFI Simulation of the Chandra Deep Field South with Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF) in inset. Click the image to run the animation