These mark the first wide-field X-ray snapshots of our universe available to the public so far, captured by the first truly wide-field X-ray focusing imaging telescope ever flown in space.

The results were reported by scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) at the Second China Space Science Assembly held in Taiyuan, China.

Since the first detection of X-ray signals from the depths of the universe 60 years ago, no wide-field X-ray focusing telescope has been available for X-ray surveys and monitoring until Pathfinder.

The Pathfinder was sent into orbit to verify the module's in-orbit performance. The experimental journey is meant to pave the way for the future in-orbit science operation of EP as it makes observations in the soft X-ray waveband.

EP will explore open questions in time-domain astrophysics through observation of transients. The mission is sponsored by CAS in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics and is expected to fly by the end of 2023.

The WXT test module covers a field of view up to 340 square degrees (18.6°×18.6°) wide, which makes it the first truly wide-field X-ray focusing imaging telescope. X-ray imaging by bending light rays (focusing) is notoriously difficult due to the high energy of X-ray photons; and it is even more difficult to obtain clear images from a wide field of view. Thanks to a state-of-the-art technology called lobster-eye micropore optics, the test module boasts a field of view at least 100 times those of other focusing X-ray imagers. The complete WXT to fly aboard EP will be composed of 12 such identical modules, covering a field of view up to 3,600 square degrees wide.