Abstract
The densest and closest absorbers of the soft X-ray background (SXRB) in
the Milky Way are Bok globules, located just outside the Local Bubble in
the Pipe Nebula at a distance of 125 pc. With column densities of up to
NH ˜ 1023 cm-2, they are ideal
targets for shadowing the SXRB in the energy range 0.1 - 2 keV, thus
giving important information on the spatial and spectral variation of
the foreground X-ray intensity on small scales. Preliminary analysis of
a recent XMM-Newton EPIC observation of the Bok globule Barnard 68 has
revealed a deep X-ray shadow cast by the globule. The shadow is deepest
at an energy of ˜ 800 eV. Oxygen line emission at ˜ 560 and
˜ 660 eV seems to originate at least partially in the foreground.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 509 |
Journal | Memorie Societa Astronomica Italiana |
Volume | 75 |
Publication status | Published - 2004 |
Keywords
- XMM-Newton
- interstellar medium
- soft X-ray background
- X-ray shadowing
- Local Bubble