NASA set to launch new IXPE X-ray telescope on Dec 9; here's where and when to watch

NASA is all set to launch the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, or IXPE which will act as the agency’s new eyes. The observatory will launch aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, December 9. According to the agency, the IXPE has been developed in partnership with the Italian Space Agency and Ball Aerospace and it excels in detecting polarisation, an aspect of unexplored cosmic X-ray sources.

How will the IXPE be useful?

Equipped with three identical telescopes, the observatory will study the universal objects with high energy such as remnants of exploded stars, powerful particle jets spewing from feeding black holes, and much more. Although it is smaller in size than the Chandra Observatory, NASA’s other X-ray telescope, it helps in detecting polarised light. The light which is polarised is made up of electric fields vibrating in a single direction and carries unique details about where it is originating from and the mediums it has passed through. 

As mentioned above, the IXPE carries three telescopes that will collect X-rays with a set of nested, cylinder-shaped mirrors. These rays will then be fed into a detector, which takes a picture of incoming X-rays and measures both the amount and direction of polarization. According to NASA’s official release, Dr. Martin Weisskopf, IXPE’s principal investigator said-

The launch of IXPE marks a bold and unique step forward for X-ray astronomy. IXPE will tell us more about the precise nature of cosmic X-ray sources than we can learn by studying their brightness and color spectrum alone.

Detecting X-rays is a big deal because they carry detailed information about their source and have the potential to educate us about places where matter is under extreme conditions. NASA says that these extreme conditions vary from violent collisions, enormous explosions and 10-million-degree temperatures to fast rotations, and strong magnetic fields.

When and where to watch the launch

The launch is planned no earlier than 11:30 am (IST) on Thursday, December 9 and NASA will begin the live coverage of the liftoff from 12:30 am. The launch will be live-streamed on platforms like NASA TV, the NASA app and on the agency’s official YouTube channel.

Image: NASA