Advanced Telescope for High Energy Astrophysics

Advanced Telescope for High-ENergy Astrophysics (Athena) is an X-ray observatory mission selected by <a href="/facts/European_Space_Agency/L8YRNV0C">European Space Agency</a> (ESA) within its <a href="/facts/Cosmic_Vision/AfFu0drN">Cosmic Vision program</a> to address the 'Hot and Energetic Universe' scientific theme. The primary goals of the mission are to map hot gas structures, determine their physical properties, and search for <a href="/facts/Supermassive_black_hole/BcuTx8Q5">supermassive black holes</a>.
Athena will operate in the energy range of 0.2–12 <a href="/facts/Electronvolt/YMT1fqX9">keV</a> and will offer spectroscopic and imaging capabilities exceeding those of currently operating <a href="/facts/X-ray_astronomy_satellite/vvBsw12n">X-ray astronomy satellites</a> – e.g. the <a href="/facts/Chandra_X-ray_Observatory/zU89xG3a">Chandra X-ray Observatory</a> and <a href="/facts/XMM-Newton/rXRB4WRM">XMM-Newton</a> – by at least one order of magnitude on several parameter spaces simultaneously.

Advanced Telescope for High Energy Astrophysics open-in-new

Advanced Telescope for High Energy Astrophysics