Mint Explainer: Why black holes are on India’s radar
Interstellar, you would be familiar with the word black hole, even if you do not fully understand what it means. Released a decade ago, Interstellar achieved a high level of scientific accuracy in its portrayal of a black hole called Gargantua, with the help of Nobel laureate Kip Thorne, despite taking some artistic liberties.
While Interstellar popularised the idea of black holes, physicists and research labs continue to expand their research of such interstellar phenomena to further understand the origins of our universe. In December 2021, the US-based National Aeronautics Space Agency launched the imaging X-ray polarimetry explorer mission to explore the remnants of supernova explosions, the particle streams emitted by black holes and other cosmic events.
On 1 January, the Indian Space Research Organisation welcomed the New Year with the successful launch of its first X-ray polarimeter satellite (XPoSat) that would offer insights into celestial objects such as black holes and neutron stars. This, even as Isro races to launch 12 more missions this year–including Gaganyaan-1 and Mangalyaan-2.
Mint explains the significance of XPoSat and why the mission could take us closer to understanding the origin of our planet. XPoSat, expected to last for about 5 years, comprises two scientific payloads in a low earth orbit (close to the earth’s surface)–the primary payload, POLIX (polarimeter instrument in X-rays), to measure the polarimetry parameters (degree and angle of polarisation); and the XSPECT (X-ray spectroscopy and timing) payload to provide spectroscopic information.
X-ray polarimetry is used to understand how intense gravitational forces draw matter toward black holes. When a giant star dies in a supernova, it can
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