Credit: Sophia Dagnello, NRAO/AUI/NSFNASAs IXPE mission entered its General Observer phase in 2024, focusing on inviting global scientific contributions to study X-ray sources.Launched in late 2021, the science activities for NASAs IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) mission were directed by scientists at NASA and the Italian Space Agency through February 2024. Credit: NASA, editedIn June 2023, NASA issued an open invite to researchers to propose brand-new IXPE objectives and targets of observation. Each proposal was extensively peer-reviewed by NASA astrophysicists and associated professionals in the field.Researchers proposed studies based on the number of seconds of IXPE target observation they approximated they would need to acquire the data required to verify a hypothesis or model.For Cycle 1, the team selected 39 proposals, amounting to about 15 million seconds of overall observation time. Such an event requires fast response on the part of the team to make it possible for IXPE to point at it without a lot of innovative scheduling.Challenges in Scheduling ObservationsAllyn Tennant, who heads IXPEs science operations center at Marshall, is tasked with mapping out IXPEs timetable. Those joint efforts further extend the value of data collected throughout IXPEs General Observer Program research studies however include another level of complexity when targets of opportunity call for reshuffling the schedule.During Cycle 1 and Cycle 2, IXPE is teaming with NASAs NICER (Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer) X-ray observatory, which studies neutron stars, black holes, and other phenomena from its permanent vantage point aboard the International Space Station.
IXPE will assist researchers get brand-new understanding of the forces involved in a tidal disturbance occasion, as seen in this artists illustration depicting what happens when a star passes fatally close to a supermassive great void. Credit: Sophia Dagnello, NRAO/AUI/NSFNASAs IXPE objective entered its General Observer stage in 2024, concentrating on inviting worldwide scientific contributions to study X-ray sources.Launched in late 2021, the science activities for NASAs IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) mission were directed by researchers at NASA and the Italian Space Agency through February 2024. Now, throughout the General Observer phase of the objective, IXPEs observation program mainly is guided by the wider scientific neighborhood.”Were in the procedure of turning X-ray polarization into a standard part of the toolkit for X-ray astronomers around the globe,” stated Philip Kaaret, IXPE principal investigator at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “The action throughout the high-energy astrophysics neighborhood has actually been incredible.”General Observer Program LaunchThe General Observer Program, which formally began in February, welcomes astrophysicists and space scientists around the globe to propose amazing brand-new investigations of great voids, neutron stars, active galactic nuclei, and other high-energy X-ray sources utilizing the IXPE telescope.In the spacecrafts very first two years of operation, NASAs research study partners consisted of more than 175 researchers in 13 countries– and interest continues to swell. Proposed investigations submitted to date to the General Observer Program involve more than 1,400 researchers at 174 distinct institutions in 30 nations.”Our chief objective to allow every interested celebration to use, evaluate, and interpret IXPE data,” stated Kavitha Arur, program lead at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “We want to take full advantage of science outputs and cover the best possible variety of targets.”An artists illustration of the IXPE spacecraft in orbit, studying high-energy phenomena light-years from Earth. Credit: NASA, editedIn June 2023, NASA issued an open invitation to scientists to propose new IXPE missions and targets of observation. By the October 2023 deadline, the General Observer Program group had actually gotten 135 proposals for Cycle 1, covering the first year of the program. Each proposition was exhaustively peer-reviewed by NASA astrophysicists and associated experts in the field.Researchers proposed research studies based on the variety of seconds of IXPE target observation they approximated they would require to acquire the information necessary to validate a hypothesis or model.For Cycle 1, the team chosen 39 proposals, totaling about 15 million seconds of overall observation time. That figure will include some overlap amongst chosen targets– and the targets picked included a couple of surprises.”Some of the picked propositions were for types of targets we hadnt previously thought about, such as tidal disruption events,” Kaaret stated. A tidal disruption occasion is when a star is pulled into a supermassive black hole and torn apart.New Research and TargetsCycle 1 researchers also will, for the first time, usage IXPE to study a white dwarf, an excellent core residue roughly the size of Earth but with a mass equivalent to that of our Sun. That white dwarf is part of the binary system T Coronae Borealis, roughly 3,000 light years from our solar system. “T CrB,” as its known to astronomers, also includes an ancient red giant which releases a nova eruption every 80 years or two. It was last seen in 1946, and astronomers anticipate another eruption between now and September 2024. For stargazers on Earth, this nova will appear to be a star that wasnt there before.That wide window of time makes T CrB a “target of chance” for IXPE– an unpredictable wrinkle in the thoroughly plotted Cycle 1 schedule. Such an event requires fast response on the part of the team to make it possible for IXPE to point at it without a great deal of innovative scheduling.Challenges in Scheduling ObservationsAllyn Tennant, who heads IXPEs science operations center at Marshall, is charged with mapping out IXPEs timetable. He factors in the exact period of each observation, the time required to download its findings, and the essential repositioning time between targets.What does it require to carry out such a complicated strategy? “A certain quantity of idea, a certain quantity of swearing, and a great deal of replanning,” Tennant stated.”We started the program the very first week of February and by late April, Allyn had already rescheduled the strategy 7 times,” Kaaret added. “It produces some difficult weekends, but a lot of actually interesting results originate from these unanticipated occasions.”IXPE spends about a week on each target, on average, so its not tough to schedule roughly 40 targets in a 52-week window, Tennant said– till one encounters those targets of opportunity. Theres also the difficulty of handling the inflow of information from each observation. The brighter the target, the larger the volume of inbound information that must be recorded, validated, and distributed to the investigators.Collaborative Efforts and Future ProspectsThe spacecrafts busy schedule likewise consider joint huge observations with other NASA instruments performing their own orbiting science missions. Those collaborations even more extend the value of data collected throughout IXPEs General Observer Program research studies but add another level of complexity when targets of opportunity require reshuffling the schedule.During Cycle 1 and Cycle 2, IXPE is teaming with NASAs NICER (Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer) X-ray observatory, which studies neutron stars, great voids, and other phenomena from its long-term vantage point aboard the International Space Station. In Cycle 2, beginning in February 2025, the program also will partner with NASAs orbiting Swift and NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array) imagers, which monitor gamma-ray bursts and high-energy cosmic X-ray events, respectively.The growing interest in IXPEs success led USRAs Science and Technology Institute to reveal the very first IXPO (International X-ray Polarimetry Symposium), to be held in Huntsville September 16-19. Astronomers, engineers, and X-ray technologists are motivated to attend.View the total list of picked IXPE Cycle 1 research study proposals. Find out more about program standards for sending Cycle 2 proposals.IXPE, led by NASA Marshall, is a partnership between NASA and the Italian Space Agency. The Space & & Mission Systems division of BAE Systems Inc., in Broomfield, Colorado, manages spacecraft operations together with the University of Colorados Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics in Boulder.
