The ringed galaxy NGC1291

We propose to observe the nearby ring galaxy NGC1291, with two ACIS-S exposures to cover the northern and southern sides of the UV-bright ring for a total of 120 ks. Together with the ~80 ks archival ACIS-S data these observations will give us the unique opportunity to observe and study in detail the X-ray binary (XRB) population of a galactic ring, which includes two ULXs.These observations will also provide the means to study the LMXB population of the bulge down to the limiting sensitivity of deep studies of LMXB elliptical populations, and establish if the 5 1037 erg s-1 break observed in these XLFsis a general feature of LMXB populations. Finally, we will be able to set a stringent constraint to the gaseous fuel available to the faint nuclear supermassive black hole.