Related papers: LOFT: the Large Observatory for X-ray Timing
MOONS is the new Multi-Object Optical and Near-infrared Spectrograph currently under construction for the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at ESO. This remarkable instrument combines, for the first time, the collecting power of an 8-m telescope,…
As China's first X-ray astronomical satellite, Insight-HXMT (Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope) successfully launched on Jun 15, 2017. It performs timing and spectral studies of bright sources to determine their physical parameters. HXMT…
We present the status of LAUE, a project supported by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), and devoted to develop Laue lenses with long focal length (up to 100 meters), for hard X--/soft gamma--ray astronomy (80-600 keV). Thanks to their…
THESEUS is a medium size space mission of the European Space Agency, currently under evaluation for a possible launch in 2032. Its main objectives are to investigate the early Universe through the observation of gamma-ray bursts and to…
The Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope was launched in June 2008 and the onboard Large Area Telescope (LAT) has been collecting data since August of that same year. The LAT is currently being used to study a wide range of science topics in…
Gravitational lensing is a powerful tool to detect compact matter on very different mass scales. Of particular importance is the fact that lensing is sensitive to both luminous and dark matter alike. Depending on the mass scale, all lensing…
ROOT is high energy physics' software for storing and mining data in a statistically sound way, to publish results with scientific graphics. It is evolving since 25 years, now providing the storage format for more than one exabyte of data;…
Recent advances in optical atomic clocks and optical time transfer have enabled new possibilities in precision metrology for both tests of fundamental physics and timing applications. Here we describe a space mission concept that would…
Sky survey telescopes and powerful targeted telescopes play complementary roles in astronomy. In order to investigate the nature and characteristics of the motions of very faint objects, a flexibly-pointed instrument capable of high…
ATHENA, with a launch foreseen in 2028 towards the L2 orbit, addresses the science theme "The Hot and Energetic Universe", coupling a high-performance X-ray Telescope with two complementary focal-plane instruments. One of these, the X-ray…
The era of time domain multi-messenger (MM) astrophysics requires sensitive, large field-of-view (FoV) observatories that are able to quickly react in order to respond to alerts from gravitational wave (GW) triggers, neutrino detections,…
We outline the science case for a 30-40 m optical/infrared telescope in the Northern Hemisphere, optimised for transformative time-domain astronomy in the 2040s. Upcoming multi-wavelength and multi-messenger facilities will reveal fast,…
The Einstein Probe (EP) is a mission designed to monitor the sky in the soft X-ray band. It will perform systematic surveys and characterisation of high-energy transients and monitoring of variable objects at unprecedented sensitivity and…
The Advanced Technology Large-Aperture Space Telescope (ATLAST) is a concept for an 8-meter to 16-meter UVOIR space observatory for launch in the 2025-2030 era. ATLAST will allow astronomers to answer fundamental questions at the forefront…
Scheduled to launch in late 2021, the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) is a NASA Small Explorer Mission in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency (ASI). The mission will open a new window of investigation - imaging X-ray…
The singular way of scheduling at major observatories has favored certain types of astronomy. This has led to the discrimination of certain types of observations which could not be accommodated. It is the goal of future operations to open…
FORCE is a 1.2 tonnes small mission dedicated for wide-band fine-imaging x-ray observation. It covers from 1 to 80 keV with a good angular resolution of $15"$ half-power-diameter. It is proposed to be launched around mid-2020s and designed…
The SVOM (Space-based Variable Objects Monitor) mission, launched into low Earth orbit on 22 June 2024, is a French-Chinese multi-wavelength observatory dedicated to the study of the transient sky. Inspired by the Neil Gehrels Swift…
The NEAT (Nearby Earth Astrometric Telescope) mission is a proposition submitted to ESA for its 2010 call for M-size mission. The main scientific goal is to detect and characterize planetary systems in an exhaustive way down to 1 Earth mass…
The wide-field spectroscopic survey telescope (WST) is proposed to become the next large optical/near infrared facility for the European Southern Observatory (ESO) once the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) has become operational. While the…