NASA launches new X-ray mission to study black holes and exploding stars

On Thursday morning, NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) successfully launched into space on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The two-year mission, a joint effort with the Italian Space Agency, is NASA’s first mission dedicated to studying and measuring X-ray polarization.

The pioneering mission will allow NASA to look into the origins of X-ray light, a form of high energy light produced during some of the most extreme celestial events like supernova explosions and violent collisions. The mission builds on the work done by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, NASA’s flagship X-ray astronomy mission, which launched in 1999 and has imaged the remnants of exploded stars, discovered black holes, and more. The IXPE will provide more...

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