High-Resolution Spectroscopy of Comets with XMM

GT After the unexpected discovery of bright Xray emission from comet C/1996B2 (Hyakutake), the subsequent Xray detection of further comets has shown thatcomets represent a new class of Xray sources. The capabilities of XMM, inparticular its high spectral resolution, will provide powerful diagnostic toolsfor understanding the Xray generation mechanism.Pls. note that the exact coordinates are TBD, and as such the target should notyet be scheduled. In the case that a brighter, not yet discovered comet will beobservable with XMM, the coordinates, the time of observation, andsome instrument settings will have to be adjusted. truncated!, Please see actual data for full text [truncated!, Please see actual data for full text]