ABELL520
Observing shock fronts offers insights into complex intracluster medium (ICM) transport mechanisms, such as electron-ion equilibrium and thermal conduction, which remain poorly understood. A key unresolved puzzle revolves around the mechanism of electron and ion heating by these collisionless shocks. Long-standing observational discrepancies have obscured our understanding of the electron heating mechanism behind shock fronts, presenting a significant puzzle that has persisted for decades. To decisively unravel this longstanding mystery, we propose 200 ks Resolve observations of the Abell 520 galaxy cluster, our prime target for directly constraining the electron heating mechanism behind a shock front.
obsid = 202010010 / Unique Observation/Sequence Number
object = ABELL520 / Object name
pi_name = SARKAR ARNAB / Proposal Principal Investigator Name
ra = 73.5413884481266 / Right Ascension (Pointing Position) (deg)
dec = 2.91608175341329 / Declination (Pointing Position) (deg)
roll_angle = 264.997386547796 / Roll Angle (deg)
start_time = 2026-02-20T21:15:04 / Start Time of the Observation
stop_time = 2026-02-24T21:55:04 / Stop Time of the Observation
exposure = 187007.36794 / Effective Total Observation Exposure (s)
public_date= 2027-03-06 / Public Date