Einstein Probe: Exploring the ever-changing X-ray Universe
2018
The Einstein Probe is a small mission dedicated to
time-domain astronomy to monitor the sky in the soft X-ray band (0.5–4 keV). It will carry out systematic survey
and characterisation of high-energy transients at unprecedented sensitivity,
spatial resolution, Grasp and monitoring cadence. Its wide-field imaging
capability, as provided by an X-ray monitor with a field of view of
3600 square degrees, is enabled by using established technology of
micro-pore lobster-eye focusing optics. Complementary to this wide-field
instrument is a follow-up X-ray telescope with a large effective area
and a narrow field of view. It is also capable of real time triggering
and downlink of transient alerts on the fly, in order to activate
multi-wavelength follow-up observations by other astronomical facilities
worldwide. Its scientific goals are concerned with discovering new
or rare types of transients, particularly tidal disruption events,
supernova shock breakouts, high-redshift gamma-ray bursts and, particularly,
electromagnetic sources associated with gravitational wave events.
The mission is planned for launch around end of 2022, with a lifetime
of three years and five years as a goal.
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