The Constellation X-ray mission

Constellation-X is the X-ray equivalent of the Keck Telescope. When observa tions begin towards the end of the next decade, they will mark the start of anew era with high resolution X-ray spectra obtained for all classes of X- ray sources over a wide range of luminosity and distance. With its increase d capabilities, Constellation-X will address many fundamental astrophysics questions such as observing the formation and evolution of clusters of gala xies; constraining the Baryon content of the Universe;determining the spin and mass of super massive black holes in AGN; and probing strong gravity in the vicinity of black holes.