New collaborative X-ray observatory stands tall as testing begins
The X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission will greatly expand our knowledge of the high-energy universe, and recently passed two key milestones on its path to observing the cosmos.
The X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission will greatly expand our knowledge of the high-energy universe, and recently passed two key milestones on its path to observing the cosmos.
Space Exploration
Jul 19, 2022
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26
An exhausted star still has some punches to deliver. Astronomers have found that a white dwarf is pummeling a companion object—either a lightweight star or a planet—with incessant blasts of heat and radiation plus a relentless ...
Astronomy
Nov 22, 2021
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76
What remains of the star that exploded just outside our galaxy in 1987? Debris has obscured scientists' view, but two of NASA's X-ray telescopes have revealed new clues.
Astronomy
Feb 23, 2021
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213
A new study, led by a theoretical physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), suggests that never-before-observed particles called axions may be the source of unexplained, ...
Astronomy
Jan 15, 2021
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2153
A fractal is any geometric pattern that occurs again and again, at different sizes and scales, within the same object. This "self-similarity" can be seen throughout nature, for example in a snowflake's edge, a river network, ...
Condensed Matter
Oct 17, 2019
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9851
An element called gadolinium delivered into cancer cells releases killer electrons when hit by specially tuned X-rays. The approach, published in the journal Scientific Reports, could pave the way towards a new cancer radiation ...
Bio & Medicine
Sep 30, 2019
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116
A joint European-Chinese spacecraft, SMILE is currently scheduled for launch in 2023. It will be placed in a highly inclined, elliptical orbit around Earth, which will take it as far as 120 000 km from our planet.
Space Exploration
Aug 28, 2019
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24
In the nearby Whirlpool galaxy and its companion galaxy, M51b, two supermassive black holes heat up and devour surrounding material. These two monsters should be the most luminous X-ray sources in sight, but a new study using ...
Astronomy
Feb 20, 2019
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260
A new study using data from NASA's NuSTAR space telescope suggests that Eta Carinae, the most luminous and massive stellar system within 10,000 light-years, is accelerating particles to high energies—some of which may reach ...
Astronomy
Jul 3, 2018
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203
Low-energy X-rays are able to sterilize materials, offering a potentially cheap and effective alternative to current techniques, A*STAR researchers have shown.
General Physics
Nov 16, 2017
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6