The IXPE Archive is open!Feb 14, 2022 IXPE first light!IXPE first light image of Cas A!
Launched on 2021 December 09 (06:00 UTC), the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) is a NASA-ASI mission to measure x-ray polarization from compact objects such as neutron stars and black holes, which serve as laboratories for exploring extreme gravitational and magnetic fields. With its imaging capabilities, IXPE will also map the magnetic-field structure of a few extended sources such as supernova remnants and pulsar wind nebulae.
On behalf of the international IXPE partnership, Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) manages the mission and generates IXPE science data products. The HEASARC hosts the permanent data archive and provides software tools released with HEASoft. IXPE is the product of a collaboration between NASA and the Italian Space Agency (ASI), with major participation from Italy's National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) and National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), Roma Tre University, Stanford University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Other university partners include Nagoya University, RIKEN, and the University of Colorado; primary industry partners are Ball Aerospace (Mission prime) and OHB-Italia (Instrument). For more information, see the About IXPE tab.
Latest NewsThe HEASARC has opened the IXPE data archive. Currently, Cas A and Cen X-3 datasets are available. IXPE has released its first light image of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A using data taken in January. IXPE begins science operations with an observation of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. The IXPE spacecraft successfully deployed, positioning the mirrors 13 feet (4 meters) away from the instruments and is now ready for commissioning. The IXPE spacecraft successfully launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. |