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Session 52 - AXAF, X-ray, Gamma Ray Instruments.
Display session, Thursday, January 08
Exhibit Hall,
The Advanced X-ray Astronomy Facility (AXAF) is scheduled for Shuttle launch in late August of 1998. X-ray ground calibration measurements of the High Resolution Mirror Assembly (HRMA) have recently been completed and the calibration analysis is under way. These measurements are used to calibrate a high fidelity raytrace model of the optics from which the on-orbit performance can be assessed. A preliminary characterization of the on-orbit off-axis imaging properties of the AXAF HRMA is presented. We report on small azimuthal asymetries in the off-axis effective area which results from a slight decentering of the mirror pairs. The energy dependence of the off-axis vignetting is assessed. The image morphology is discussed. We also present the results of preliminary investigations into optimizing detection of off-axis sources.
