Ginga (satellite)

Updated on Dec 25, 2023

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Names Astro-C before launch SATCAT no. 17480 Rocket M-3S2-3 Launch date 5 February 1987 Mission type X-ray astronomy		COSPAR ID 1987-012A Launch mass 400 kg (880 lb) Reference system Geocentric Launch site Uchinoura Space Center Decay date 1 November 1991

Operators Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, University of Tokyo Similar Tenma, EXOSAT, Hakucho, High Energy A, Uhuru

ASTRO-C, renamed Ginga (Japanese for 'galaxy'), was an X-ray astronomy satellite launched from the Kagoshima Space Center on 5 February 1987 using M-3SII launch vehicle. The primary instrument for observations was the Large Area Counter (LAC). Ginga was the third Japanese X-ray astronomy mission, following Hakucho and Tenma. Ginga reentered the Earth's atmosphere on 1 November 1991.

Instruments

Large Area Proportional Counter (LAC 1.5-37 keV)

All-Sky Monitor (ASM 1-20 keV)

Gamma-ray Burst Detector (GBD 1.5-500 keV)

Highlights

Discovery of transient Black Hole Candidates and study of their spectral evolution.

Discovery of weak transients in the galactic ridge.

Detection of cyclotron features in 3 X-ray pulsars: 4U1538-522, V0332+53, and Cep X-4.

Evidence for emission and absorption Fe feature in Seyfert probing reprocessing by cold matter.

Discovery of intense 6-7 keV iron line emission from the galactic center region.

References

Ginga (satellite) Wikipedia

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Contents

Instruments

Highlights

References