Astrophysics Branch
Marshall Space Flight Center's Astrophysics Branch uses space and ground-based observatories to peer back to the earliest epochs of the universe, unravel its mysteries, and study the most violent explosions in our galaxy and beyond. Our goal is to help discover how the universe works, explore how it began and evolved, and search for life on planets around other stars.
On 6/7/23, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS) published “Uncovering the geometry of the hot X-ray corona in the Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151 with IXPE” by Vittoria E. Gianolli et al. This is the 22nd discovery paper published …
Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) Discovery Paper and Sessions Read More »
Four composite images of two galaxies, a nebula, and a star cluster have been released featuring data combined from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and James Webb Space Telescope. Each image combines Chandra’s X-ray data with infrared data from previously released …
“NASA’s Chandra, Webb Combine for Arresting Views” Read More »
On 5/10/23, Astrophysical Journal Letters published “X-Ray Polarization of BL Lacertae in Outburst” by Abel L. Peirson et al. This is the 21st discovery paper published by the IXPE Science Team. Two additional “discovery papers” have been published by authors …
Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) Featured in Nature Astronomy Read More »
A real-time procedure was successfully executed on 5/18/23 to uplink a flight software patch that updates the Aspect Camera Assembly (ACA) Processor Electronics Assembly (PEA) to enable on-board dark current subtraction using a dynamically generated dark current map. This substantially …
There is an “H”-shaped structure outlined in the hot gas in the galaxy Messier 84 (M84). Jets from the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy have created cavities in the hot in opposite directions. X-ray data from …