The Tenma [Astro B] Satellite
Astro B was the second Japanese X-ray astronomy satellite. After launch on February 20, 1983, it was renamed Tenma (Japanese for "Pegasus"). Tenma carried GSFC detectors which had an improved energy resolution (by a factor of 2) compared to proportional counters and performed the first sensitive measurements of the iron spectral region for many astronomical objects.
Mission Characteristics
Lifetime :
February 20, 1983 - November, 22 1985
Energy Range :
0.1 keV - 60 keV
Payload :
- Gas Scintillator Proportional Counter: 10 units of 80 cm2 each, FOV ~ 3deg (FWHM), 2 - 60 keV
- X-ray focusing collector: 2 units of 7 cm2 each, 0.1 -2 keV
- Transient Source Monitor: 2 - 10 keV
- Radiation Belt Monitor/Gamma-ray burst detector
- Discovery of the Iron helium-like emission from the galactic ridge
- Iron line discovery and/or study in many LMXRB, HMXRB and AGN
- Discovery of an absorption line at 4 keV in the X1636-536 Burst spectra
HEASARC Home | Observatories | Archive | Calibration | Software | Tools | Students/Teachers/Public
Last modified: Thursday, 26-Jun-2003 13:48:53 EDT