Video Credit: NASA
X-Raying a Cosmic Hand
Reply
Tag Archives: IXPE
A Fab Five
Video Credit: NASA
Sonification: Sagittarius A*/Galactic Center
Video Credit: NASA
Tycho’s Supernova
This image provides a new look at the Tycho supernova remnant, named for Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe who noticed the bright glow of this new “star” in the constellation Cassiopeia in 1572. Data from the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer has revealed the geometry of the magnetic fields close to the supernova’s blast wave, which is still propagating from the initial explosion and forms a boundary around the ejected material. Understanding the magnetic field geometry allows scientists to further investigate how particles are accelerated there.
In this composite image, data from IPXE (dark purple and white) have been combined with those from Chandra X-ray Observatory (red and blue), which were overlaid with the stars in the field of view seen by the Digitized Sky Survey.
Image Credit: NASA
A New View of the Crab Nebula
This image of the Crab Nebula combines data from the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) in magenta and the Chandra X-ray Observatory in dark purple. The Crab Pulsar at the center of the nebula is the remnant of the explosion of a massive star. The IXPE data show that the nebula has a donut-shaped magnetic field.
Image Credits: X-ray (IXPE: NASA) / (Chandra: NASA,CXC,SAO)
Image Processing: NASA / CXC / SAO / K. Arcand and L. Frattare
Another View of Cassiopeia A
This image of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A combines some of the first X-ray data collected by the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (magenta) with high-energy X-ray data from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory blue). IPXE is a collaboration between NASA and the Italian Space Agency. Studying the polarization of X-rays reveals the physics of objects and can provide insights into the high-temperature environments where they were created.
Image Credit: NASA / CXC / SAO / IXPE