ROSAT observations of nearby galaxies

First results of pointed and All Sky Survey observations of galaxies with the X-ray observatory satellite ROSAT are reported. During observations of the Magellanic Clouds and the Andromeda galaxy new super-soft X-ray sources have been detected. This new class of luminous X-ray sources may help to solve the millisecond pulsar progenitor problem. Due to the improved sensitivity and longer observation times of ROSAT new X-ray point sources have been resolved in several nearby galaxies. The diffuse emission of the LMC that was already reported by EINSTEIN has been mapped in detail. It shows a lot of fine structure and temperatures around 5 × 10⁶ K. The improved low energy response of ROSAT led to the discovery of 10⁶ K gas from the spiral galaxy M101 and the halo of the starburst galaxy NGC 253. No diffuse emission was detected from the halo of the edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 5907.