Optical Photometry of an X-ray sample of sources in the LMC

Exercise: Find a set of X-ray sources in the LMC and get optical photometry, especially light curves for these sources.

 

Software needed: DataScope

 

VO technology employed: Registries, VOTable, Conesearch, SIAP

 

Background: A primary goal of the Virtual Observatory is to support multi-wavelength astronomy, making it easy for users to find resources in multiple wavebands for selected sources.

 

Scientific Criteria: X-ray sources often have complex emission structures. The high-energy emission may be associated with accretion onto a compact object, or in shocks in winds in the system. Correlating the optical and X-ray fluctuations helps untangle the physics of the sources. By looking at a sample of sources in a nearby external galaxy we can try to minimize the uncertainties that arise from the often unknown distances to the X-ray source.