EXOSAT ME: X-Ray Spectra and Lightcurves from Satellite Observatory

EXOSAT's Medium Energy experiment used eight proportional counters with a total geometric area of 1600 cm² to observe X-ray sources from 1-50 keV. Data was compressed by onboard computer programs, trading time resolution against spectral information, with the highest possible time resolution being 0.2 milliseconds. This database, created from spectral-oriented onboard programs and provided by NASA HEASARC, contains results from the argon detectors sensitive in the 1-20 keV range.

Use Cases

• Analyzing spectral energy distributions of X-ray sources based on pulse height analyzed data from 128 channels.
• Studying temporal variability and intensity profiles of celestial objects with high time resolution data.
• Modeling particle background for observations using data from detector halves offset to source-free sky regions.
• Investigating instrument performance and calibration based on the described energy resolution and detector specifications.

Strengths

• Data originates from a well-documented satellite instrument with a 1600 cm² detector area and defined energy resolution.
• Provides high time resolution capability of 0.2 ms for selectable energy bands.
• Background subtraction was optimized by alternately offsetting detector halves to monitor particle background.

Limitations

• Only results from the argon detectors (1-20 keV) are included; xenon chamber data (5-50 keV) is not part of this database.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset scale are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) HEASARC

Collection Method

Data collected by the EXOSAT satellite's Medium Energy experiment, processed by onboard computer programs.

Time Range

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Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 18:32:57.628086; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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