Exploring the Invisible Sky With IXPE’s Revolutionary X-Ray Technology
NASA’s IXPE mission entered its General Observer phase in 2024, focusing on inviting global scientific contributions to study X-ray sources. Launched in late 2021, the…
IXPE News
The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) is a space observatory developed by NASA in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency, dedicated to measuring the polarization of X-rays coming from cosmic sources such as black holes, neutron stars, and supernova remnants. Launched in December 2021, IXPE is equipped with three identical telescopes that have detectors capable of not only capturing X-rays but also determining the direction and degree of polarization of these rays. This capability allows scientists to study the physics of extreme environments where gravitational, electric, and magnetic fields are at their limits. By analyzing how X-rays are polarized when they are emitted from or scattered by such high-energy regions, IXPE provides new insights into the structure and behavior of cosmic objects, offering a deeper understanding of the universe’s most energetic phenomena.
NASA’s IXPE Triumph: Resurrected To Probe Black Hole Mysteries
NASA’s IXPE spacecraft successfully resumed scientific operations on April 3 after a temporary suspension of data transmission since March 23. NASA confirmed the IXPE spacecraft…
Particle Accelerators in the Sky: NASA’s IXPE Explores “Microquasar” Mechanics
Insights from NASA’s IXPE mission have transformed our understanding of particle acceleration in black holes, using the microquasar SS 433 as a case study to…
SN 1006 Unveiled: Chandra and IXPE’s New Insights Into a Millennium-Old Supernova
SN 1006, a supernova observed over a millennium ago, has been extensively studied using NASA’s Chandra and IXPE telescopes, revealing critical details about its magnetic…
Cosmic Revelations: NASA’s IXPE Untangles Theories Surrounding Historic Supernova Remnant
NASA’s IXPE telescope has unveiled groundbreaking images of SN 1006’s magnetic fields, offering new insights into particle acceleration in supernovas and enhancing our understanding of…
IXPE’s Stellar Birthday: X-Raying the Universe’s Biggest Mysteries
IXPE, an X-ray astronomy mission launched in 2021, has revolutionized our understanding of cosmic phenomena like blazars and supernova remnants. On December 9, astronomers and…
From Medical Marvel to Cosmic Mystery: X-Ray Telescopes and the Magnetic ‘Hand’ In Space
NASA’s X-ray telescopes have unveiled the magnetic “bones” of a hand-shaped space structure, offering profound insights into the behavior of dead stars and the powerful…
Cosmic Chills: The Mysterious Ghost Hand Discovered by NASA’s X-Ray Telescopes
NASA’s Chandra and IXPE telescopes unveil the magnetic “bones” of the “hand”-shaped pulsar wind nebula, MSH 15-52, offering groundbreaking insights into X-ray polarization and magnetic…
NASA’s IXPE Stuns Astronomers With New Blazar Discovery
The universe is teeming with powerful supermassive black holes that spawn powerful jets of high-energy particles, creating sources of extreme brightness in the vastness of…
From Sounding Rockets to Satellites: The 50-Year Journey To Map the Crab Nebula’s Magnetic Field
NASA’s IXPE has created a detailed map of the Crab Nebula’s magnetic field, revealing its complex geometry and turbulence, and refining the angle of polarization…
NASA’s IXPE Uses Vela Pulsar Wind Nebula as an Extreme Astrophysics Laboratory
About 10,000 years ago, light from the explosion of a giant star in the constellation Vela arrived at Earth. This supernova left behind a dense…
NASA’s IXPE Quickly Observes Aftermath of Incredible Cosmic Blast – “This Is Now or Never”
NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory detected a high-energy blast of light from deep space on October 9, 2022. The light…
NASA’s Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) Celebrates 1 Year of Exploring the Cosmos
NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) lit up the early morning sky one year ago as it started its journey into space. The satellite was…
Astrophysicists Solve 40-Year-Old Black Hole Jet Mystery With NASA’s IXPE
Blazars are some of the brightest objects in the cosmos. They are composed of a supermassive black hole feeding off material swirling around it in…
Surprising Results From NASA’s IXPE Help Unlock the Secrets of Famous Exploded Star
For the first time, astronomers have measured and mapped polarized X-rays from a supernova remnant, Cassiopeia A (Cas A), using NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer…
X-Ray Polarimetry: Pushing the Boundaries of Space Exploration
Researchers introduce an imaging X-ray polarimetry mission that enables new measurements of cosmic X-ray sources. Humankind has long been fascinated by the secrets hidden in…
NASA’s IXPE Mission Checks Out X-Rays From Extreme Cosmic Objects
NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission, a joint effort with the Italian Space Agency, has returned data that no other spacecraft has obtained before…
See the First Stunning Image From NASA’s New X-Ray Observatory
It’s the first light for one of the newest space observatories! The Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer team has released their first image, taken after a…