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Artist’s rendering of XRISM, the satellite that will take new readings of hot and energetic spots in the universe. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab
On September 6, the new satellite left Earth; Its purpose is to tell us about the movements of hot plasma flowing through the universe.
Launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan, the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) satellite will detect X-ray wavelengths with unprecedented precision to peer into the hearts of galaxy clusters, reveal the workings of black holes and supernovae, and tell us about the nature of the universe.
XRISM, called “crism,” is a joint project between the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NASA, with the participation of the European Space Agency.
Unlike existing X-ray telescopes, XRISM will be able to distinguish different colors of X-ray light, opening up an extraordinary amount of information to scientists. It carries a new type of device that detects X-rays through small changes in temperature. It will be able to identify which chemical elements are present in the object it is looking at—such as iron, nickel, oxygen, or silicon—and their abundance. XRISM will be able to read the velocity of the gas flow.
“With XRISM, we will have a new view of the hot and energetic universe,” said Irina Zhuravleva, a NASA scientist participating in the project and chair of the extragalactic science group within the collaboration. “We will watch the explosion of stars, the interaction of black holes and the galaxies that inhabit them, and the violent merger of galaxy clusters in unprecedented detail, but the most exciting thing – the unexpected discoveries that always accompany new missions.”
Difficult questions
A anX-rays are produced by the most powerful and dangerous events in the sky: exploding stars, matter orbiting supermassive black holes, and merging galaxy clusters—the largest objects in the universe with thousands of galaxies bound together by gravity.
Scientists at UChicago will analyze the first observations of large clusters of galaxies and clusters of galaxies. A big question is related to supermassive black holes, which reside at the center of galaxies. Scientists know that these black holes emit energy from the surrounding environment, which controls the rate of star formation. But how these black holes interact with regular galaxies is an open question.
So far, we have studied the physics of this interaction by looking at ‘static’ imaging data,” explains Zhuravleva, who is Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics. “With XRISM, we will measure the speed of gas flow driven by black holes. higher and study the mixing of different gases and metals.”
Making similar measurements of the outer regions of galaxy clusters will reveal how energy is transferred to the universe.
In addition, XRISM will accurately measure the abundance of different chemical elements and the distribution of metals in and out of galaxies – to show what kind of exploding stars are responsible for the current chemical composition of the universe.
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The Perseus (left) and Virgo (right) galaxy clusters have long been of interest to scientists. XRISM will build on these previous observations (such as images taken by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, above) to better understand the physics at play in these massive objects. Credit: NASA/CXC/Stanford/I.Zhuravleva et al
A new era
Because the Earth’s atmosphere blocks X-rays, these observations must be made in space. Launching a satellite and controlling all the equipment from space is an unusual challenge. Three previous attempts to launch and deploy similar satellites failed; Scientists hope that the fourth time is the charm for mission success.
After its launch, the XRISM satellite will be tested and calibrated to ensure that all instruments are ready to launch the observation program later this year.
“XRISM will open a new era of high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy,” said Zhuravleva. “We are very excited about this work and are preparing to analyze the highly anticipated data.”
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