NASA’s newest X-ray observatory rocketed into orbit Thursday to shed light on exploded stars, black holes and other violent high-energy events unfolding in the universe.
SpaceX launched the spacecraft on its $188 million mission from Kennedy Space Center. It’s called IXPE, short for Imaging X-ray Polarization Explorer.
Scientists said the observatory — actually three telescopes in one — will unveil the most dramatic and extreme parts of the universe as never before.
“IXPE is going to open a new window on the X-ray sky,” Brian Ramsey, NASA's deputy principal scientist, said this week.
Operations should begin next month. NASA is partnering with the Italian Space Agency on the project.
Some abortion clinics are fielding lots of calls from patients since a court ruling last Friday threatened the availability of a main drug used in medication abortion, mifepristone.
The Biden administration released an environmental analysis Tuesday that outlined two ways that seven Western states and tribes reliant on the over-tapped Colorado River could cut their use, but declined to publicly take a side on the best option.
Scientists have found a hidden chapter of Bible text written more than 1,500 years ago. They uncovered the scripture after applying ultraviolet light to a manuscript about ancient Christian stories and hymns housed at the Vatican library.