X-ray astronomy in its thirtieth year.

Abstract

An overview is given of current activities and future prospects in the X-ray astronomy field with attention given to the British involvement in the Ginga, Rosat, and Exosat projects. The large array of proportional counter detectors for the Ginga astronomy satellite is described in detail with respect to studying time variability. The Rosat X-ray-astronomy satellite carries the Wide-Field Camera for EUV investigations, and observational results indicate that the satellite can detect individual sources and repeatedly scan the sky every five days. Rosat is expected to remain operational for about 3-4 years, and the Exosat and Ginga data archives are presently being established. Reference is given to future projects with improved energy resolution and point-source sensitivity including the AXAF, the Spectrum-X mission, and the Joint European Telescope for X-ray Astronomy.