EXOSAT observation of the QSO galaxy pair 1E0104.2+3153

Abstract

A very long (160,000 second) observation of the X-ray source 1E0104.2+3153 was carried out using the Channel Multiplier Array (CMA) instrument on board Exosat in August 17, 1984. A thin Lexan filter having maximum throughput in the 0.05-2.0 keV CMA band was used during the entire observation period. The positional accuracy of the CMA was sufficient to distinguish between the different optical counterparts of the source. The IPC flux and the CMA 3 sigma upper limit are plotted in a graph as a function of temperature (in the case of a thermal bremsstrahlung spectrum), and of photon spectral index (in the case of a power law spectrum). Significant variation in the X-ray luminosity of 1E0104.2+3153 was observed. Some possible reasons for the variability are discussed.