Tag Archive for 'IXPE'

This illustration depicts IXPE’s measurements of X-ray polarization emitting from 1E 1841-045. Image credit: Michela Rigoselli / Italian National Institute of Astrophysics.

IXPE Measures X-ray Polarization of Magnetar Outburst

Jun 6, 2025 by News Staff

Magnetars are neutron stars with ultra-strong magnetic fields that are about a quadrillion times greater than the magnetic field of Earth. These huge magnetic...

This artist’s concept depicts the central region of the blazar BL Lacertae, a supermassive black hole surrounded by a bright disk and a jet oriented toward Earth. Image credit: NASA / Pablo Garcia.

Interactions between Fast-Moving Electrons and Photons Lead to X-ray Emission from Blazar Jets

May 7, 2025 by News Staff

In new research, astronomers used NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) to observe a highly relativistic jet emanating from the blazar BL...

Halo around Cygnus X-3. Image credit: NASA.

IXPE Discovers New Ultra-Luminous X-ray Source in Milky Way

Jun 25, 2024 by News Staff

Cygnus X-3, an X-ray binary system located some 7,400 parsecs (24,136 light-years) in the constellation of Cygnus, represents a class of ultra-luminous...

IXPE and Chandra images have been combined to show X-ray data of the area around Sagittarius A. The lower panel combines IXPE data, in orange, with Chandra data in blue. The upper panel depicts a much wider field-of-view of the center of the Milky Way. The thin white lines layered onto the top panel frame the highlighted area, and indicate that the perspective in the bottom panel has been rotated approximately 45 degrees to the right. The combination of IXPE and Chandra data helped the astronomers determine that the X-ray light identified in the molecular clouds originated from Sagittarius A* during an outburst approximately 200 years ago. Image credit: NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center / Marin et al. / CXC / SAO / L. Frattare / J.Major / K.Arcand.

IXPE Detects 200-Year-Old Flare from Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole

Jun 22, 2023 by News Staff

The center of the Milky Way Galaxy hosts Sagittarius A*, a supermassive black hole with a mass of about 4 million solar masses that is very quiescent....

This composite image shows the elliptical galaxy Centaurus A: blue color shows X-ray light captured by Chandra, orange represents X-rays detected by IXPE, and optical light seen by ESO is colored white and gray. Image credit: NASA / MSFC / IXPE / Ehlert et al. / CXC / SAO / ESO / WFI / J.Schmidt.

IXPE Observes Jet from Centaurus A’s Supermassive Black Hole

May 4, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Centaurus A is located 13 million light-years away in the constellation of Centaurus, and represents the fifth brightest galaxy in the sky. This composite...

This image of the Crab Nebula combines data from IXPE in magenta and NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory in dark purple. Image credit: IXPE / NASA / Chandra / CXC / SAO / K. Arcand / L. Frattare.

IXPE Observes Crab Nebula and Its Pulsar

Apr 11, 2023 by News Staff

Located 6,500 light-years away in the constellation of Taurus, the Crab Nebula and its pulsar formed in a supernova whose light reached Earth in July 1054. This...

This image shows the Vela pulsar wind nebula: light blue represents X-ray polarization data from IXPE; pink and purple colors correspond to data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray observatory; the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope contributed the stars in the background. Image credit: IXPE / NASA / MSFC / Fei Xie / CXC / SAO / STScI / Hubble / Chandra / Judy Schmidt / Kimberly Arcand / Nancy Wolk.

Polarized X-ray Detection Sheds New Light on Vela Pulsar Wind Nebula

Mar 8, 2023 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) — a collaboration between NASA and the Italian Space Agency — have observed...

This image shows Tycho’s SNR, which is located between 8,000 and 10,000 light-years away in the constellation of Cassiopeia. IXPE data (dark purple and white) have been combined with data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (red and blue) and overlaid with the stars in the field of view as captured by the Digitized Sky Survey. Image credit: IXPE / NASA / ASI / MSFC / INAF / Ferrazzoli et al. / Chandra / CXC / RIKEN / GSFC / Sato et al. / DSS / SAO / K. Arcand, L. Frattare & N. Wolk.

IXPE Detects Polarized X-Rays from Tycho’s Supernova Remnant

Mar 2, 2023 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) — a collaboration between NASA and the Italian Space Agency — have observed...

This illustration shows the IXPE spacecraft (right) observing the blazar Markarian 501 (left). A blazar is a black hole surrounded by a disk of gas and dust with a bright jet of high-energy particles pointed toward Earth. The inset illustration shows high-energy particles in the jet (blue). When the particles hit the shock wave, depicted as a white bar, the particles become energized and emit X-rays as they accelerate. Moving away from the shock, they emit lower-energy light: first visible, then infrared, and radio waves. Farther from the shock, the magnetic field lines are more chaotic, causing more turbulence in the particle stream. Image credit: NASA / Pablo Garcia.

IXPE Spacecraft Examines Particle Acceleration in Blazar Jets

Nov 24, 2022 by News Staff

Blazars are active galactic nuclei with jets of magnetized plasma that point nearly along the line of sight. Most of the light from these extremely luminous...

An artist’s impression of a magnetar. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / S. Wiessinger.

Distant Magnetar Has Solid Surface with No Atmosphere

Nov 4, 2022 by News Staff

Magnetars are neutron stars with ultra-strong magnetic fields, which can be observed in X-rays. Polarization measurements could provide information on...

This composite image shows the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A, a structure resulting from the explosion of a star in the constellation of Cassiopeia. The blues represent data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, the turquoise is from IXPE, and the gold is courtesy of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Image credit: NASA / CXC / SAO / NASA / MSFC / Vink et al. / STScI.

IXPE Maps Polarized X-Rays from Cassiopeia A

Oct 18, 2022 by News Staff

Cassiopeia A is a remnant that blew up as a supernova approximately 11,000 years ago. This composite image shows the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A, a...

This IXPE image maps the intensity of X-rays coming from Cassiopeia A; colors ranging from cool purple and blue to red and hot white correspond with the increasing brightness of the X-rays; the image was created using X-ray data collected by IXPE between January 11 and 18, 2022. Image credit: NASA / ASI / IXPE.

IXPE Space Observatory Collects Its First Imaging Data

Feb 15, 2022 by News Staff

The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), an international collaboration between NASA and the Italian Space Agency (ASI), has captured an image of...