J/A+A/707/A278 SS 433/W50 eROSITA 0.5-4keV image (Sunyaev+, 2026)
X-ray panorama of the SS 433/W50 complex by SRG/eROSITA.
Sunyaev R., Khabibullin I., Churazov E., Gilfanov M., Medvedev P.,
Sazonov S.
<Astron. Astrophys. 707, A278 (2026)>
=2026A&A...707A.278S 2026A&A...707A.278S (SIMBAD/NED BibCode)
ADC_Keywords: Binaries, X-ray ; QSOs
Keywords: acceleration of particles - ISM: jets and outflows - X-rays: binaries
Abstract:
The Galactic microquasar SS 433 and the radio nebula W50 surrounding
it present a prototypical example of a hyper-Eddington binary system
shaping its ambient interstellar medium via energetic outflows. In
this paper, we present X-ray observations of the SS 433/W50 complex by
the eROSITA telescope onboard the SRG space observatory. These data
provide images of the entire nebula characterized by a very large
dynamic range and allow spectral analysis of the diffuse X-ray
emission. In particular, these data illustrate a close connection
between the thermal and non-thermal components of W50 on scales
ranging from sub-parsecs, represented by narrow X-ray bright
filaments, to the entire extent of ≳100pc of the nebula. These data
also allowed us to fully characterize a pair of nearly symmetric,
sharp-edged, elongated structures aligned with the orbital axis of the
binary system, which lack radio counterparts but are prominent in
very-high-energy gamma-ray emission. The resulting multifaceted
picture of the interaction between energetic outflows and the
surrounding medium paves the way for future focused multiwavelength
observations and dedicated numerical simulations.
Description:
Broad-band 0.5-4keV X-ray image of the giant radio nebula W50
surrounding Galactic microquasar SS433 obtained by eROSITA telescope
(Predehl et al., 2021A&A...647A...1P 2021A&A...647A...1P) on board SRG observatory
(Sunyaev et al., 2021A&A...656A.132S 2021A&A...656A.132S) during it's performance
verification (PV) observations in October 2019.
The image is particle-background subtracted and vignetting-corrected,
corresponding to a flat-field surface brightness map in the 0.5-4keV
band. The image is 150 by 90 arcmin in size, with 4 arcsec pixel size
and gaussian smoothing with sigma equal to 9 arcsec.
Objects:
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RA (2000) DE Designation(s)
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19 11 49.56 +04 58 57.8 SS 433 = V* V1343 Aql
19 12 20.00 +04 55 00.0 W50 = SNR G039.7-02.0
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File Summary:
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FileName Lrecl Records Explanations
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ReadMe 80 . This file
list.dat 140 1 Informations on fits image
fits/* . 1 fits image (Fig. 2)
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See also:
J/AZh/78/922 : Radio emission of SS433 (Trushkin+, 2001)
J/PAZh/23/341 : BVR observations of SS 433 (Irsmambetova 1997)
J/PAZh/37/120 : Fast optical variability of SS 433 (Burenin+, 2011)
J/other/PZ/31.5 : SS 433 UBVRI light curves (Goranskij, 2011)
Byte-by-byte Description of file: list.dat
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bytes Format Units Label Explanations
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1- 9 F9.5 deg RAdeg Right Ascension of center (J2000)
10- 18 F9.5 deg DEdeg Declination of center (J2000)
20- 23 I4 --- Nx Number of pixels along X-axis
25- 28 I4 --- Ny Number of pixels along Y-axis
30- 34 I5 Kibyte size Size of FITS file
36- 70 A35 --- FileName Name of FITS file, in subdirectory fits
72-140 A69 --- Title Title of the FITS file
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Acknowledgements:
From Ildar Khabibullin, ildar(at)mpa-garching.mpg.de
Usage: This image can be used provided proper citation to AA57726-25
is included along with the acknowledgement:
This work is partly based on data from eROSITA, the soft X-ray
instrument aboard SRG, a joint Russian-German science mission
supported by the Russian Space Agency (Roskosmos), in the interests of
the Russian Academy of Sciences represented by its Space Research
Institute (IKI), and the Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt
(DLR). The SRG spacecraft was built by Lavochkin Association (NPOL)
and its subcontractors, and is operated by NPOL with support from the
Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE). The
development and construction of the eROSITA X-ray instrument was led
by MPE, with contributions from the Dr. Karl Remeis Observatory
Bamberg & ECAP (FAU Erlangen-Nuernberg), the University of Hamburg
Observatory, the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP), and
the Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics of the University of
Tubingen, with the support of DLR and the Max Planck Society. The
Argelander Institute for Astronomy of the University of Bonn and the
Ludwig Maximilians Universitat Munich also participated in the
science preparation for eROSITA.
(End) Patricia Vannier [CDS] 10-Feb-2026