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Showing posts with the label Space mission

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe: The Closest Approach to the Sun

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is on the verge of achieving yet another historic milestone as it moves closer to the Sun than ever before. Scheduled for December 25, this record-breaking perihelion will bring the probe within approximately 6.2 million kilometers (3.8 million miles) of the Sun’s surface, marking a significant leap in solar exploration. This close approach will allow scientists to gather critical data on the Sun’s outer atmosphere, known as the corona , unlocking key insights into solar wind, magnetic fields, and the fundamental processes governing our star. Historical Background and Mission Overview Launched on August 12, 2018 , aboard a Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the Parker Solar Probe was designed to revolutionize our understanding of the Sun. Named after physicist Dr. Eugene Parker , who first proposed the existence of the solar wind, the probe’s mission is to venture closer to the Sun than any previous spacecraft. Over the course of its seven-ye...

ISRO's X-ray Polarimeter Satellite

India's space agency, ISRO, has taken a giant leap forward in the field of X-ray astronomy with the successful launch of the XPoSat mission in January 2024. This blog delves into the key aspects of this groundbreaking mission, drawing upon our recent conversation to provide a comprehensive understanding. Mission Objectives: Piercing the Veil of X-rays XPoSat, which stands for X-ray Polarimetry Satellite, isn't just another satellite orbiting Earth. It's a dedicated observatory with a focused mission: to study the properties of bright cosmic X-ray sources, particularly black holes and neutron stars. But why X-rays? These enigmatic objects, the densest and most powerful in the universe, shroud themselves in intense gravity, making direct observation through visible light impossible. X-rays, however, pierce through these veils, offering a window into their behavior. The Power of Polarization XPoSat's secret weapon lies in its ability to measure the polarization of X-rays. ...