NASA’s IXPE Measures White Dwarf Star for First Time

By Michael Allen  For the first time, scientists have used NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarization Explorer) to study a white dwarf star. Using IXPE’s unique X-ray polarization capability, astronomers examined a star called the intermediate polar EX Hydrae, unlocking the geometry of energetic binary systems.  In 2024, IXPE spent nearly one week focused on EX Hydrae, a […]

NASA Selects Tech Proposals to Advance Search-for-Life Mission

NASA announced Monday the selection of industry proposals to advance technologies for the agency’s Habitable Worlds Observatory concept – the first mission that would directly image Earth-like planets around stars like our Sun and study the chemical composition of their atmospheres for signs of life. This flagship space telescope also would enable wide-ranging studies of […]