XMM Newton has the ability to observe X-ray targets simultaneously in the visible and ultraviolet light, one of the XMM-Newton mission's great advantages. The Optical Monitor is co-aligned with the observatory's main telescopes and has a field of view (17 x 17 arcminutes) matched to that of the XMM-Newton X-ray cameras. It is an improved Ritchey-Chretien telescope with a 30 cm aperture and an imaging sensitivity comparable to a 4 m instrument on the Earth's surface.
More pictures of astronomical objects taken by XMM Newton can be found in the XMM Newton Image Gallery.
Last Modification: September 13, 2005