BackForwardInstrument:  OM 

Instrument details
Acronym OM
Full name Optical Monitor
Purpose UV and VIS measurements in the Interplanetary space
Short description Radiometer with seven channels of the UV/VIS range 170-650 nm: four in UV around 212, 231, 291 and 344 nm, two in VIS around 450 and 543 nm, and one covering the full interval 170-650 nm (white light)
Background OM is complementary to the other two XMM-Newton instruments: the European Photon Imaging Camera (EPIC) and the Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS), that measure X-rays with high spatial resolution and high spectral resolution, respectively
Scanning Technique CCD array of 256 x 256 detectors covering a field of view of 17 arcmin addressing changing sectors as the satellite moves in the 40° inclination HEO.
Resolution 0.5 arcsec
Coverage / Cycle Large fraction of the interplanetary space each orbital period (48 h). Typical sampling interval: 0.5 s
Mass Power Data Rate

 

Providing Agency ESA
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 2000 to 2026
Last update: 2024-01-22
Detailed characteristics
Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Instrument classification
  • Solar and space environment monitors
  • Space radiometer or spectrometer
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 3
  • UV spectral imagery (e.g. GEO, HEO, MEO, LEO)
  • UV spectral imager [from GEO, HEO, MEO, LEO]
  • VIS spectral imager [from GEO, HEO, MEO, LEO]
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • UV flux
  • VIS flux
Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Note: * Primary mission objective.
VariableRelevance for measuring this variableOperational limitationsExplanation
Heliospheric image2 - very highNo specific limitation.Interplanetary space viewing in the UV band (121.6-393.4 nm) and VIS band (400-700 nm)
UV flux*3 - highNo specific limitation.Interplanetary space viewing, wide dynamic range
UV sky image3 - highNo specific limitation.Interplanetary space viewing, high spatial resolution
VIS flux*1 - primaryNo specific limitation.Interplanetary space viewing, wide dynamic range
VIS sky image1 - primaryNo specific limitation.Interplanetary space viewing VIS imager with resolution <=1 degrees