News
∙ Recently, the Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launched the PSLV-C58 XPoSat (X-ray Polarimeter Satellite) mission.
About
∙ The XPoSAT mission launch also marked the 60th flight of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
∙ XPoSat (X-ray Polarimeter Satellite) is India’s first dedicated polarimetry mission to study various dynamics of bright astronomical X-ray sources.
∙ After this launch, India became the second nation after the US to send an observatory to study astronomical sources, such as black holes, and neutron stars, among others.
XPoSat’s payloads
∙ The spacecraft will carry two scientific payloads in a low earth orbit. The primary payload POLIX (Polarimeter Instrument in X-rays) will measure the polarimetry parameters.
∙ The XSPECT (X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing) payload will give spectroscopic information in the energy range of 0.8-15 keV.
How are X-Rays witnessed in space?
∙ X-rays have much higher energy and much shorter wavelengths, between 0.03 and 3 nanometers, so small that some x-rays are no bigger than a single atom of many elements. The physical temperature of an object determines the wavelength of the radiation it emits. The hotter the object, the shorter the wavelength of peak emission.
∙ X-rays come from objects that are millions of degrees Celsius — such as pulsars, galactic supernova remnants, and black holes.
Significance
∙ The mission helps in comprehending the emission processes from various astronomical sources like black holes, neutron stars, active galactic nuclei, and pulsar wind nebulae.
∙ Space based observatories are also unable to give information about the exact nature of the emission from such sources. Therefore, newer devices can measure specific properties.
