At its meeting in Paris last Friday, the European Space Agency (ESA) selected the "The Hot and Energetic Universe" as the science theme for L2– the second Large-class mission in ESA’s Cosmic Vision science programme – expected to be launched in 2028, with the power to address some of the most fundamental questions in modern astrophysics.
This mission will address two key questions. How and why does ordinary matter assemble into the galaxies and galactic clusters that we see today, and how do black holes grow and influence their surroundings?
The theme was proposed by an international team, with major input from Professor Andy Fabian from Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy. The same team is now well placed to lead the delivery of a major space observatory, with observing capabilities ideally matched to the L2 theme.
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Image: Hot gas sloshing in a galactic cauldron
Credit: ESA
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
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Cambridge one of two UK institutions at highest level of ESA’s next Large Mission
2 December 2013
The European Space Agency has announced a broad plan for major space science missions over the next two decades, with Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy involved at the highest levels.