'Supernova' Captured by X-ray Satellite... Will the Reality of Black Holes Be Revealed? [Reading Science]

Supernova Cassiopeia A photographed by the US black hole exploration IXPE satellite. Photo by NASA

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Can humanity confirm the existence of a black hole for the first time in history? The X-ray space observation satellite launched by the United States at the end of last year for black hole exploration has transmitted its first celestial observation images. Scientists are analyzing these images to try to confirm the existence of a black hole or neutron star that may be at the center.

The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on the 14th (local time) released the first celestial photo taken and transmitted by the black hole exploration X-ray satellite (IXPE), which was launched on December 9 last year. The image shows the magnetic field of the Cassiopeia A supernova, which exploded in the 17th century, glowing mysteriously. The shockwave from the supernova explosion sweeps surrounding gas, heating it to high temperatures and accelerating cosmic ray particles, creating a cloud that shines with X-ray light, producing a mysterious appearance.

The photo released by NASA that day is a composite image processed by combining the photo taken by IXPE and another X-ray space telescope, Chandra. The red color represents the image taken by IXPE, with darker shades indicating stronger intensity of X-ray rays emitted from the supernova. The blue color represents the high-energy X-rays captured by Chandra. Chandra also transmitted its first image after its launch in 1999, capturing the same Cassiopeia A supernova. The photo sent by Chandra at that time was a historic discovery showing that remnants presumed to be a black hole or neutron star remained at the center after the supernova explosion.

NASA believes that using IXPE for X-ray polarization observations will open a new horizon in black hole observation. The equipment installed on IXPE can measure the energy intensity, arrival time, and position of X-ray rays emitted from distant stars.

Even with the first transmitted X-ray polarization data of the Cassiopeia A supernova this time, NASA scientists expect to confirm the polarization data of the supernova remnant, which has a diameter of 10 light-years, for the first time. NASA scientists are currently analyzing the data from this image to create the first-ever X-ray polarization distribution map of the Cassiopeia A supernova.

Professor Roger Romani of Stanford University said, "We have developed a methodology for more accurate analysis using new machine learning technology," adding, "We will strive to find out what is at the center of the Cassiopeia A supernova through the polarization images that IXPE will send in the future."