Zarin Shuba Rumman

X-rays aren’t just for the doctor’s office. They might also help unravel the mysteries of black holes. It’s called X-ray astronomy. Early Thursday morning NASA launched its Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer Mission, or IXPE, in a joint effort with the Italian Space Agency. It’s the first space observatory of its kind. It's purpose will be to measure X-rays released by black holes, neutron stars, supernova remnants and other high-energy objects. Scientists say IXPE will tell them more about cosmic X-ray sources than they can learn by studying their brightness and color spectrum, which will help them test and refine theories of how the universe works. The satellite's eyes on the universe include sensitive polarization detectors, which were made in Italy. The telescopes will observe the X-rays and feed them into the detectors, which can capture images of the X-rays and measure their polarization. Polarized light also bears the unique stamp of its source and what it passed through on the way. While waves of light can vibrate in any direction, polarized light only vibrates in one direction.