Wednesday, 06 September 2023
A Nottingham astronomer is one of only two UK scientists working on a new X-ray satellite, which aims to reveal new insights into the evolution of the Universe.
Dr Helen Russell from the University of Nottingham’s School of Physics and Astronomy is a guest scientist on the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM). The mission is using a new instrument to observe the X-ray light emitted by some of the most energetic objects and events in the cosmos.
XRISM is a collaboration between the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NASA, with participation from the European Space Agency (ESA).
The mission will study X-rays that are released from the most energetic objects and the hottest regions in the Universe, including exploding stars, black holes and the hot atmospheres of galaxy clusters. These galaxy clusters are the building blocks of the Universe and understanding how these are heated will reveal new information on how they were formed.
The new instrument will also examine X-rays from gas falling into supermassive black holes that lie at the centres of some galaxies.
This will help to understand how these objects warp the surrounding spacetime, and to what extent they influence their host galaxies through ‘jets’ of particles ejected at speeds close to the speed of light.
Dr Helen Russell, one of only two UK scientists on the mission
Helen is one of five leading European scientists selected by ESA to join the mission as a XRISM Guest Scientist. Helen will work on the satellite’s earliest, ground-breaking observations of galaxy clusters that will show how jets launched by black holes interact with their host galaxies.
This is a hugely exciting project to be involved in. This observatory will give us a remarkably detailed view of the hottest and most energetic phenomena in the universe - including black holes and galaxy clusters.
XRISM is scheduled to launch on a H-IIA rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan at 08:42 JST / 00:42 BST / 01:42 CEST on 7 September 2023. The launch will be streamed live in Japanese and English on JAXA’s YouTube channel.
Story credits
More information is available from Helen Russell on Helen.Russell@nottingham.ac.uk
Main image credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab
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