Who is Bruno Rossi?

The 'R' in RXTE stands for Bruno Rossi. The XTE stands for X-ray Timing Explorer, and is still used by itself in some places. However, our new and preferred acronym is RXTE - the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer.

Professor Bruno Rossi (and his colleagues) discovered the first non-solar source of X-rays (Scorpius X-1). Rossi, a pioneer in both X-ray astronomy and space plasma physics, died in 1993, after a long and distinguished career. He served as professor of Physics and Professor Emeritus at MIT, and in 1987 was the co-recipient of the prestigious Wolf Prize in Physics. The Bruno B. Rossi Prize, awarded annually to a top astrophysicist for achievements in the field, is named in his honor.

In February of 1996, NASA renamed XTE to honor Bruno B. Rossi. The new official title of XTE is the Bruno B. Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer, or RXTE. This is why the XTE Learning Center and many other things pertaining to XTE have been changed to RXTE.

Bruno B. Rossi is pictured below.

---

| Index Page | About X-ray Astronomy | RXTE Discoveries | Images and Movies |

| Education | Tour the ASM Sky | Other Resources | What's New? |

The RXTE Learning Center is a service of the Astrophysics Science Division at NASA/GSFC. Meet the RXTE Learning Center Team!     What is the 'R' in RXTE? Responsible NASA Official: Phil Newman Web Curator: Dr. James Lochner Privacy Policy and Important Notices.