Space station telescope sees X-ray hot spots merge on supermagnetic star corpse

For the first time, a powerful NASA telescope aboard the International Space Station observed merging “hot spots” on a weird star, known as a magnetar. The telescope is called the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), and seeks to understand more about the extreme conditions present in super-dense, city-sized neutron stars and their variants. (Magnetars, … Read more

NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory suffers camera glitch, stalling science

A prolific NASA space telescope has closed its camera eye for now due to a power issue that has stalled the observatory’s science work. The Chandra X-ray Observatory, which has studied the X-ray universe since 1999, suffered a power supply problem with its High Resolution Camera instrument on Feb. 9, leading the mission team to … Read more

New X-Ray Space Telescope Shares Its First, Historic Glimpse of The Cosmos

A new telescope designed to peer into the twisted X-ray Universe has just sent back its first-ever imaging data. The Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), a joint project between NASA and the Italian Space Agency, fixed its gaze on one of the most famous explosions in the Milky Way: Cassiopeia A.   Located 11,000 light-years … Read more

1st image from NASA’s new IXPE X-ray telescope looks like a ball of purple lightning

IXPE’s first science image shows the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A.  (Image credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/IXPE) NASA’s newly-launched X-ray hunting probe has snapped its first science image and — wow — it’s spectacular. The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) probe launched Dec. 9, 2021, on a mission to observe objects like black holes and neutron stars in X-ray … Read more

‘Cow’ supernova is brightest ever seen in X-ray observations

Astronomers have spotted the brightest “Cow” supernova ever seen in X-rays, providing shining new evidence that the recently discovered phenomenon might be driven by an emerging black hole or a neutron star.  Cow supernovae are a newly-labeled subclass of the explosive events, which occur when giant stars reach the end of their lives; they run … Read more

NASA’s newly launched X-ray space telescope is ready to start observing the cosmos

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s newest space observatory, the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), is set to begin spying on some of the universe’s most dramatic objects — black holes and neutron stars — potentially changing our understanding of the cosmos in the process.  The 730-pound (330 kilograms) IXPE satellite launched to orbit on Dec. … Read more

NASA X-ray telescope: New spacecraft will study the science of black holes

NASA and the Italian Space Agency are launching the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer space telescope to measure the X-ray light coming from objects including neutron stars and black holes Space 8 December 2021 By Will Gater An artist’s impression of the IXPE mission NASA NASA and the Italian Space Agency are scheduled to launch an … Read more

NASA Launches IXPE, a New X-ray Space Telescope

SpaceX successfully launched its 28th rocket of the year early Thursday morning (Dec. 9), ferrying an X-ray observatory into space for NASA. A used Falcon 9 rocket blasted off at 1 a.m. (0600 GMT) from Pad 39A here at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). The mission marked the fifth … Read more