Astrophysics Branch
Marshall Space Flight Center's Astrophysics Branch uses space and ground-based observatories to peer back to the earliest epochs of the universe, unravel its mysteries, and study the most violent explosions in our galaxy and beyond. Our goal is to help discover how the universe works, explore how it began and evolved, and search for life on planets around other stars.
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Astrophysics Branch Links:
| IXPE: Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer | Chandra X-Ray Observatory | Gamma Ray Astrophysics | Lynx X-Ray Observatory |
Astrophysics Branch Updates
The large wall monitor displaying a countdown shows 17 seconds when Amelia “Mia” De Herrera-Schnering tells her teammates “We have AOS,” meaning “acquisition of signal.” “Copy that, thank you,” Alexander Pichler replies. The two are now in contact with NASA’s…
This graphic shows a three-dimensional map of stars near the Sun. These stars are close enough that they could be prime targets for direct imaging searches for planets using future telescopes. The blue haloes represent stars that have been observed…
On 5/9/24 NASA Universe celebrated Black Hole Week with a Q & A session on several NASA social media accounts. Five experts, including Steven Ehlert (ST12), answered over Sixty-five (65) questions was submitted by the general-public about black holes over…
On 3/25/24, Astrophysics Branch scientist, Stephen Bongiorno, presented at the Rocket Experiment Demonstration of a Soft X-ray (REDSoX) Polarimeter preliminary design review at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). REDSoX is a sounding rocket instrument, led by MIT, that plans…
Several funding proposals for General Observer (GO) IXPE observations have been accepted by NASA headquarters. They are “X-ray polarization of a TeV binary” and “X-ray polarimetry of bright atoll sources” led by Philip Kaaret and “Unraveling particle acceleration in astrophysical…