Why NASA is banking on a 36-pixel camera
from NASA James Webb Space Telescope East manufacturing strides In astronomy with It is 122 megapixels mostly infrared Pictures taken 1.5 million kilometers far Since Earth. Impressive thing. THE space the agency most recent sky watcher takes A different approach, However, perform revolutionary space science with 36 pixels. It is not A typo—36 pixels, not 36 megapixels.
THE x-ray Imaging And Spectroscopy Assignment (XRISM), pronounced “crisis” East A collaboration between NASA And THE Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). THE missions Satellite spear In orbit last September And has has been scouring THE cosmos For answers has a few of Sciences most complex questions Never Since. THE missions imagery instrument, Solve, has A 36 pixels picture sensor.
It is has been A hot minute Since We could count THE individual pixels on A imagery chip, but here We are… THE painting measures 0.2 inches (5 millimeters) on A side. THE device product A spectrum of x-ray sources between 400 And 12,000 electron volts — up has 5,000 times THE energy of visible light — with unprecedented detail. Picture credit: NASA/XRISM/Caroline Kilbourne
"Solve East more that A camera. It is detector takes THE temperature of each x-ray that strikes he," said Brian Williams, from NASA XRISM project scientist has Goddard, In A press statement. "We call Solve A microcalorimeter spectrometer because each of It is 36 pixels East measure tiny the amounts of heat book by each incoming X-ray, allowing We has see THE chemical fingerprints of elements manufacturing up THE sources In unprecedented detail."
Team with A extraordinary painting of pixels, THE Solve instrument can detect "soft" x-rays, which possess A energy approximately 5,000 times bigger that visible light wavelengths. It is primary to focus East exploring THE the hottest cosmic Regions, THE the biggest structures, And THE most massive celestial objects, such as supermassive black Holes. Despite It is limit pixels count, each pixels In Solve East outstanding, able of generator A rich spectrum of visual data encompassing A energy range Since 400 has 12,000 electron Volts.
THE agency said THE instrument can perceive THE movements of elements In A target, basically offer A three-dimensional perspective. Gas moving towards We emits slightly upper energies that usual, while gas moving far emits slightly lower energies. This aptitude opens up new tracks For scientist exploration. For example, he allow scientists has to understand THE to flow of hot gas In galaxy groups And has meticulously track THE movement of miscellaneous elements In THE remains of supernova explosions.
from NASA James Webb Space Telescope East manufacturing strides In astronomy with It is 122 megapixels mostly infrared Pictures taken 1.5 million kilometers far Since Earth. Impressive thing. THE space the agency most recent sky watcher takes A different approach, However, perform revolutionary space science with 36 pixels. It is not A typo—36 pixels, not 36 megapixels.
THE x-ray Imaging And Spectroscopy Assignment (XRISM), pronounced “crisis” East A collaboration between NASA And THE Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). THE missions Satellite spear In orbit last September And has has been scouring THE cosmos For answers has a few of Sciences most complex questions Never Since. THE missions imagery instrument, Solve, has A 36 pixels picture sensor.
It is has been A hot minute Since We could count THE individual pixels on A imagery chip, but here We are… THE painting measures 0.2 inches (5 millimeters) on A side. THE device product A spectrum of x-ray sources between 400 And 12,000 electron volts — up has 5,000 times THE energy of visible light — with unprecedented detail. Picture credit: NASA/XRISM/Caroline Kilbourne
"Solve East more that A camera. It is detector takes THE temperature of each x-ray that strikes he," said Brian Williams, from NASA XRISM project scientist has Goddard, In A press statement. "We call Solve A microcalorimeter spectrometer because each of It is 36 pixels East measure tiny the amounts of heat book by each incoming X-ray, allowing We has see THE chemical fingerprints of elements manufacturing up THE sources In unprecedented detail."
Team with A extraordinary painting of pixels, THE Solve instrument can detect "soft" x-rays, which possess A energy approximately 5,000 times bigger that visible light wavelengths. It is primary to focus East exploring THE the hottest cosmic Regions, THE the biggest structures, And THE most massive celestial objects, such as supermassive black Holes. Despite It is limit pixels count, each pixels In Solve East outstanding, able of generator A rich spectrum of visual data encompassing A energy range Since 400 has 12,000 electron Volts.
THE agency said THE instrument can perceive THE movements of elements In A target, basically offer A three-dimensional perspective. Gas moving towards We emits slightly upper energies that usual, while gas moving far emits slightly lower energies. This aptitude opens up new tracks For scientist exploration. For example, he allow scientists has to understand THE to flow of hot gas In galaxy groups And has meticulously track THE movement of miscellaneous elements In THE remains of supernova explosions.
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