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X-ray Telescope
An X-ray telescope (XRT) is a telescope that is designed to observe remote objects in the X-ray spectrum. X-rays are absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere, so instruments to detect X-rays must be taken to high altitude by balloons, sounding rockets, and satellites. The basic elements of the telescope are the optics (focusing or collimating), that collects the radiation entering the telescope, and the detector, on which the radiation is collected and measured. A variety of different designs and technologies have been used for these elements. Many X-ray telescopes on satellites are compounded of multiple small detector-telescope systems whose capabilities add up or complement each other, and additional fixed or removable elements (filters, spectrometers) that add functionalities to the instrument. History of X-ray telescopes X-ray telescopes were first used for astronomy to observe the Sun, which was the only source in the sky bright enough in X-rays for those early telescopes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chandra Artist Illustration
Chandra (), also known as Soma (), is the Hindu god Lunar deity, of the Moon, and is associated with the night, plants and vegetation. He is one of the Navagraha (nine planets of Hinduism) and Dikpala (guardians of the directions). Etymology and other names The word "Chandra" literally means "bright, shining or glittering" and is used for the "Moon" in Sanskrit and other Indo-Aryan languages.''Graha Sutras'' by Ernst Wilhelm, published by Kala Occult Publishers p. 51 It is also the name of various other figures in Hindu mythology, including an asura and a Solar dynasty, Suryavamsha king. It is also a common Indian name and surname. Both male and female name variations exist in many South Asian languages that originate from Sanskrit. Some of the synonyms of Chandra include ''Soma'' (distill), ''Indu'' (bright drop), ''Atrisuta'' (son of Atri), ''Shashin'' or ''Shachin'' (marked by hare), ''Taradhipa'' (lord of stars) and ''Nishakara'' (the night maker), ''Nakshatrapati'' (lor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Einstein Observatory
Einstein Observatory (HEAO-2) was the first fully imaging X-ray telescope put into space and the second of NASA's three HEAO Program, High Energy Astrophysical Observatories. Named HEAO B before launch, the observatory's name was changed to honor Albert Einstein upon its successfully attaining orbit. Project conception and design The HEAO Program, High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO) program originated in the late 1960's within the Astronomy Missions Board at NASA, which recommended the launch of a series of satellite observatories dedicated to high-energy astronomy. In 1970, NASA requested proposals for experiments to fly on these observatories, and a team organized by Riccardo Giacconi, Herbert Gursky, George W. Clark, Elihu Boldt, and Robert Novick responded in October 1970 with a proposal for an X-ray telescope. NASA approved four missions in the HEAO program, with the X-ray telescope planned to be the third mission. One of the three missions of the HEAO program was ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
XPoSat
The X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) is an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)-manufactured space observatory to study polarisation of cosmic X-rays. It was launched on 1 January 2024 on a PSLV rocket, and it has an expected operational lifespan of at least five years. The telescope was developed by the Raman Research Institute (RRI) in close collaboration with the U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC). Per ISRO, this mission will complement the efforts of US space agency NASA, which launched its Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) in 2021 by observing space events across a broad energy range of 2–30 keV. Overview Studying how radiation is polarised gives away the nature of its source, including the strength and distribution of its magnetic fields and the nature of other radiation around it. XPoSat will study the 50 locally brightest (known) sources in the universe consisting of, variously, pulsars, black hole X-ray binaries, active galactic nuclei, neutr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aditya-L1
Aditya-L1 (Sanskrit: 'Sun', L1 ' Lagrange Point 1') is a coronagraphy spacecraft for studying the solar atmosphere, designed and developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and various other Indian Space Research Institutes. It is orbiting at about 1.5 million km from Earth in a halo orbit around the Lagrange point 1 (L1) between the Earth and the Sun, where it will study the solar atmosphere, solar magnetic storms, and their impact on the environment around the Earth. It is the first Indian mission dedicated to observe the Sun. Nigar Shaji is the project's director. Aditya-L1 was launched aboard the PSLV C57 at 11:50 IST on 2 September 2023. It successfully achieved its intended orbit nearly an hour later, and separated from its fourth stage at 12:57 IST. It was inserted at the L1 point on 6 January 2024, at 4:17 pm IST. In February 2024, Aditya-L1 observed a powerful flare erupt from Earth's sun from its vantage point–a distance of about 1 millio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ISRO
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO ) is India's national space agency, headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It serves as the principal research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS), overseen by the Prime Minister of India, with the Chairman of ISRO also serving as the chief executive of the DoS. It is primarily responsible for space-based operations, space exploration, international space cooperation and the development of related technologies. The agency maintains a constellation of imaging, communications and remote sensing satellites. It operates the GAGAN and IRNSS satellite navigation systems. It has sent three missions to the Moon and one mission to Mars. Formerly known as the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), ISRO was set up in 1962 by the Government of India on the recommendation of scientist Vikram Sarabhai. It was renamed as ISRO in 1969 and was subsumed into the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). The establi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
XRISM
The X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM, pronounced 'crism' or 'krizz-em', as if the X was a chi), is an X-ray space telescope. It is a mission of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in partnership with NASA and ESA, intended to study galaxy clusters, outflows from galaxy nuclei, and dark matter. XRISM is a next generation X-ray astronomy spacecraft, succeeding the Chandra X-ray Observatory and XMM-Newton. XRISM is intended to fill a gap in observational capabilities between the anticipated retirement of those older X-ray telescopes and the future launch of the planned Advanced Telescope for High Energy Astrophysics (ATHENA). The Hitomi X-ray telescope was intended to fill that gap, but destroyed itself a few weeks after launch in 2016. XRISM replaces Hitomi's role of filling the expected observational gap. During its early design phase, XRISM was known as the "ASTRO-H Successor" or "ASTRO-H2". After the loss of Hitomi, the name X-ray Astronomy Recovery ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
JAXA
The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orbit, and is involved in many more advanced missions such as asteroid exploration and possible human exploration of the Moon. Its motto is ''One JAXA'' and its corporate slogan is ''Explore to Realize'' (formerly ''Reaching for the skies, exploring space''). History On 1 October 2003, three organizations were merged to form the new JAXA: Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), the National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan (NAL), and National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). JAXA was formed as an Independent Administrative Institution administered by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC). Before the mer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
IXPE
Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, commonly known as IXPE or SMEX-14, is a space observatory with three identical telescopes designed to measure the polarization of cosmic X-rays of black holes, neutron stars, and pulsars. The observatory, which was launched on 9 December 2021, is an international collaboration between NASA and the Italian Space Agency (ASI). It is part of NASA's Explorers program, which designs low-cost spacecraft to study heliophysics and astrophysics. The mission will study exotic astronomical objects and permit mapping of the magnetic fields of black holes, neutron stars, pulsars, supernova remnants, magnetars, quasars, and active galactic nuclei. The high-energy X-ray radiation from these objects' surrounding environment can be polarized oscillating in a particular direction. Studying the polarization of X-rays reveals the physics of these objects and can provide insights into the high-temperature environments where they are created. Overview ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chandra X-ray Observatory
The Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO), previously known as the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF), is a Flagship-class space telescope launched aboard the during STS-93 by NASA on July 23, 1999. Chandra is sensitive to X-ray sources 100 times fainter than any previous X-ray telescope, enabled by the high angular resolution of its mirrors. Since the Earth's atmosphere absorbs the vast majority of X-rays, they are not detectable from Earth-based telescopes; therefore space-based telescopes are required to make these observations. Chandra is an Earth satellite in a 64-hour orbit, and its mission is ongoing . Chandra is one of the Great Observatories, along with the Hubble Space Telescope, Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (1991–2000), and the Spitzer Space Telescope (2003–2020). The telescope is named after the Nobel Prize-winning Indian-American astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. Its mission is similar to that of ESA's XMM-Newton spacecraft, also launched in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission
Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, previously called the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Explorer, is a NASA three-telescope space observatory for studying gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and monitoring the afterglow in X-ray, and UV/visible light at the location of a burst. It was launched on 20 November 2004, aboard a Delta II launch vehicle. Headed by principal investigator Neil Gehrels until his death in February 2017, the mission was developed in a joint partnership between Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and an international consortium from the United States, United Kingdom, and Italy. The mission is operated by Pennsylvania State University as part of NASA's Medium Explorer program (MIDEX). The burst detection rate is 100 per year, with a sensitivity ~3 times fainter than the BATSE detector aboard the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. The Swift mission was launched with a nominal on-orbit lifetime of two years. Swift is a NASA MIDEX (medium-class Explorer) mission. It was the third to be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
XMM-Newton
''XMM-Newton'', also known as the High Throughput X-ray Spectroscopy Mission and the X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission, is an X-ray space observatory launched by the European Space Agency in December 1999 on an Ariane 5 rocket. It is the second cornerstone mission of ESA's Horizon 2000 programme. Named after physicist and astronomer Sir Isaac Newton, the spacecraft is tasked with investigating interstellar X-ray sources, performing narrow- and broad-range spectroscopy, and performing the first simultaneous imaging of objects in both X-ray and optical ( visible and ultraviolet) wavelengths. Initially funded for two years, with a ten-year design life, the spacecraft remains in good health and has received repeated mission extensions, most recently in March 2023 and is scheduled to operate until the end of 2026. ESA plans to succeed ''XMM-Newton'' with the Advanced Telescope for High Energy Astrophysics (ATHENA), the second large mission in the Cosmic Vision 2015–2025 plan, to be launc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 in the context of European integration. Its 2025 annual budget was €7.7 billion. The ESA Human and Robotic Exploration programme includes human spaceflight (mainly through participation in the International Space Station programme); as well as the launch and operation of missions to Mars and Moon. Further activities include science missions to Jupiter, Mercury, the Sun, Earth observation, Asteroid impact avoidance and Telecommunications missions, designing launch vehicles; and maintaining Europe's Spaceport, the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou (French Guiana). Further programmes include space safety, satellite navigation, applications and commercialisation. The main European launch vehicle Ariane 6 is operated through Arianespace ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
