X-ray emissions from Vela X-1 during its eclipsing period

The X-ray pulsar Vela X-1 was observed with TENMA throughout the entire period of eclipse in March 1984. The energy spectra at several phase angles showed the iron emission line at about 6.4 keV throughout the eclipse of Vela X-1 and its intensity at the mid-eclipse to be about 10% of that in the non-eclipsing phase, whereas the continuum intensity was about 1%. The result provides means of studying the contribution of the stellar wind to the fluorescence line and the structure of the stellar atmosphere.Paper presented at the IAU Third Asian-Pacific Regional Meeting, held in Kyoto, Japan, between 30 September–6 October, 1984.