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GENERAL INFO
RESEARCH TASKS
INSTRUMENTS
ORBIT AND LAUNCH
GROUND SEGMENT
COOPERATION
DOCUMENTS
MEETINGS
LINKS
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RESEARCH
TASKS
WSO-UV
is a multipurpose observatory. It will provide observations that are of
exceptional importance for the study of many astrophysical problems.
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The observatory
will provide unique opprotunities for study of the "cosmic
web" (as illustrated in the figure below), search for dark
baryonic matter, study of thermal and chemical evolution of the
Universe as well as for study of "standard candles"
used in cosmology - type Ia supernovae.
Springel et al.
(Virgo Consortium) |
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WSO-UV
- is a powerful tool for stellar physics, study of accretion discs and
of other manifestations of activity of stars and compact objects.
The
overwhelming majority of stars are binaries. Of special interest is
the physics of close binaries. At a certain stage of its evolution,
one of the components expands and fills its critical volume (the Roche
lobe). In this case, mass exchange begins between the components - the
matter of the expanded component forms a jet flow and produces an
accretion disk surrounding the second component. Complex processes of
interaction between the accretion disk and the central star determine
the development of powerful stellar flares (explosions) and other
energetic processes accompanied by strong UV radiation.
 
The
WSO-UV optical and UV imagers will allow unprecedented detailed
investigation of resolved stellar populations in the Milky Way, star
clusters and nearby galaxies. On the leftt the Andromeda galaxy, as
imaged in the optical from the ground, shows the old stellar
population, while on the right the UV image of the same galaxy (from
the small UV GALEX
telescope) shows spiral arms, star forming regions, and exotic hot
stellar objects (binaries, LXRS, pulsars). Moreover, WSO-UV optical
and UV diffraction limited images will be used to derive proper
motions in crowded environments: WSO-UV is complementary to GAIA
in this respect.
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Studies of outer
layers of planetary atmospheres are also planned. These
observations will contribute to better understanding of
terrestrial atmospheric features. The right image (from HST
archive) demonstrates the auroral activity at Saturn. |
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Study with WSO-UV
of extrasolar planet transits will provide important information
on the planetary atmospheres and their interaction with the
parent star (ESA and Alfred
Vidal-Madjar (IAP, CNRS, France)).
Study with WSO-UV
of extrasolar planet transits will provide important information
on the planetary atmosphere and its interaction with the parent
star.The figure below is artist's impression of the process of
atmosphere evaporation of a young planet . |
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