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[32.21] X-rays from the Local Bubble With Chandra: Observations of MBM 12

R. K. Smith, R. J. Edgar, P. P. Plucinsky (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)

We present the results of a 100 ksec Chandra observation of MBM 12, a nearby (d = 58-90 pc) molecular cloud. Snowden, McCammon & Verter (1993) used deep ROSAT PSPC observations of this cloud to measure the foreground 1/4 keV band emission from the Local Bubble. They also put strong upper limits on the foreground 0.5-1.0 keV band emission. Most, if not all, models for the Local Bubble predict that the emission in this bandpass is primarily due to O VII and O VIII lines. Chandra's ACIS detector has sufficient effective area to detect this emission and enough resolving power to separate these two lines. These lines will then be used as diagnostics for the emission measure and age (ionization state) of the Local Bubble.