Premium Only Content

XRISM Mission Captures Unmatched Data With Just 36 Pixels
At a time when phone cameras are capable of taking snapshots with millions of pixels, an instrument on the Japan-led XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) captures revolutionary science with just 36 of them.
That may sound impossible, but it’s true.
XRISM (pronounced “crism”) is led by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) in collaboration with NASA, along with contributions from ESA (European Space Agency). It launched into orbit last September and has been scrutinizing the cosmos ever since. The mission detects “soft” X-rays, which have energies up to 5,000 times greater than visible light. It will probe the universe’s hottest regions, largest structures, and objects with the strongest gravity, like supermassive black holes in the cores of distant galaxies.
XRISM accomplishes this with an instrument named Resolve. Resolve's detector takes the temperature of each X-ray that strikes it. Astronomers call Resolve a microcalorimeter spectrometer because each of its 36 pixels measures the tiny amount of heat delivered by each incoming X-ray. This lets astronomers see the chemical fingerprints of elements making up the sources in unprecedented detail.
In order to accomplish this, the entire detector must be chilled to 459.58 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (minus 273.1 degrees Celsius), just a whisker above absolute zero.
The instrument is so precise it can detect the motions of elements within a target, effectively providing a 3D view. Gas moving toward us glows at slightly higher energies than normal, while gas moving away from us emits slightly lower energies. This will, for example, allow scientists to better understand the flow of hot gas within clusters of galaxies and to track the movement of different elements in the debris of supernova explosions.
Resolve is taking astronomers into a new era of cosmic exploration — and with only three-dozen pixels.
-
7:42
The Pascal Show
15 hours ago $1.35 earnedBREAKING! Police Provide UPDATE In Emmanuel Haro's Case! Is Jake's Lawyer Lying To Us?!
22.7K -
2:29:46
FreshandFit
9 hours agoAfter Hours w/ Girls
125K82 -
5:28
Zach Humphries
15 hours ago $2.18 earnedNEAR PROTCOL AND STELLAR TEAM UP!
28.5K2 -
1:09:57
Brandon Gentile
1 day ago10,000 Hour BITCOIN Expert Reveals Why $13.5M Is Just The Start
31.2K4 -
2:03:55
Badlands Media
9 hours agoDevolution Power Hour Ep. 382: DOJ Coverups, Clapper’s Team Sport & Trump’s Countermoves
143K24 -
2:06:30
Inverted World Live
12 hours agoDon't Approach the Zombie Rabbits | Ep. 95
59.5K26 -
3:26:45
Drew Hernandez
8 hours agoISRAEL PLANNING POSSIBLE DRAFT IN USA & TRUMP'S VIEW ON ETERNAL LIFE ANALYZED PT 2
45.5K56 -
3:08:07
TimcastIRL
11 hours agoTexas Republicans Win, House Passes Redistricting Map, GOP Looks To Gain 5 Seats | Timcast IRL
204K92 -
1:30:34
FreshandFit
12 hours agoHow To Stay Focused While Pursuing Women...The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
69.5K39 -
1:47:05
Drew Hernandez
16 hours agoISRAEL PLANNING POSSIBLE DRAFT IN USA & TRUMP'S VIEW ON ETERNAL LIFE ANALYZED PT 1
48K64