München 2019 – scientific programme

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EP: Fachverband Extraterrestrische Physik

EP 2: Arne Richter Lecture and invited talks

EP 2.1: Invited Talk

Tuesday, March 19, 2019, 11:00–12:00, HS 19

ROSAT - A key Project in Astronomy and Extraterrestrial Physics — •Joachim Trümper — MPE Garching, Giessenbachstr.1, D-85740 Garching

After introductory remarks about the early years of the AEP/AEF I will describe the history of x-ray astronomy in Germany which culminated in the 1990's with the ROSAT observations, delivering a wealth of discoveries in the X-ray sky.

Preparations for this mission started in 1972 at the Astronomical Institute of the University Tübingen and were intensified in 1974/75 at MPE Garching. A proposal to the "Program of big projects in fundamental science paved the way for the development of the satellite and instruments by a cooperation of DLR, MPE, Carl Zeiss, MBB, Dornier and GSOC. In 1982 the UK and NASA joined the project.

After the launch in June 1990 ROSAT conducted an year all sky survey for half a year - the first one with a powerful imaging telescope - followed by 8 years of pointed observations open to a guest observer program of a wide scientific community. The ROSAT science covers many topics from solar system objects out to quasars at cosmological distances, and from the tiny neutron stars to the clusters of galaxies as the largest objects in the universe.