ISRO's XPoSat Mission: Unlocking the Mysteries of Black Holes and Neutron Stars
The Indian Space Research Organisation ( ISRO ) is all set to launch its first polarimetry mission, XPoSat, on January 1, 2024 at 9:15 AM IST⁵. The X-Ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) will be onboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C58 ⁵. The mission aims to study black hole emissions and neutron stars ¹²³. The XPoSat mission is a significant milestone in India's space exploration journey. It is a collaborative effort between ISRO and the Raman Research Institute (RRI) ⁴. The satellite is equipped with a payload called POLIX, which is an X-ray polarimeter for astronomical observations in the energy band of 8-30 keV ⁵. POLIX is being developed by RRI in collaboration with U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) ⁵. The instrument is made of a collimator, a scatterer, and four X-ray proportional counter detectors that surround the scatterer. The scatterer is made of low atomic mass material which causes anisotropic Thomson scattering of incoming polarised X-rays ⁵. The XPoSat m...
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