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Light Continues to Echo Three Years After Stellar Outburst
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By European Space Agency
ESA Delivers: 50 years booklet
50 hallmark achievements across 50 years
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By European Space Agency
The European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius attended the third day of the International Paris Air Show.
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By Space Force
Second Lt. Katherine Hendl escorted the remains of her great-great-uncle, a U.S. Army Air Forces gunner killed in action during World War II, home to Massachusetts nearly 80 years after he was declared missing in action.
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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
What happens when the universe’s most magnetic object shines with the power of 1000 Suns in a matter of seconds? Thanks to NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer), a mission in collaboration with ASI (Italian Space Agency), scientists are one step closer to understanding this extreme event.
Magnetars are a type of young neutron star – a stellar remnant formed when a massive star reaches the end of its life and collapses in on itself, leaving behind a dense core roughly the mass of the Sun, but squashed down to the size of a city. Neutron stars display some of the most extreme physics in the observable universe and present unique opportunities to study conditions that would otherwise be impossible to replicate in a laboratory on Earth.
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Illustrated magnetar flyby sequence showing magnetic field lines. A magnetar is a type of isolated neutron star, the crushed, city-size remains of a star many times more massive than our Sun. Their magnetic fields can be 10 trillion times stronger than a refrigerator magnet's and up to a thousand times stronger than a typical neutron star's. This represents an enormous storehouse of energy that astronomers suspect powers magnetar outbursts.NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Smith (USRA) The magnetar 1E 1841-045, located in the remnants of a supernova (SNR Kes 73) nearly 28,000 light-years from Earth, was observed to be in a state of outburst by NASA’s Swift, Fermi, and NICER telescopes on August 21, 2024.
A few times a year, the IXPE team approves requests to interrupt the telescope’s scheduled observations to instead focus on unique and unexpected celestial events. When magnetar 1E 1841-045 entered this brighter, active state, scientists decided to redirect IXPE to obtain the first-ever polarization measurements of a flaring magnetar.
Magnetars have magnetic fields several thousand times stronger than most neutron stars and host the strongest magnetic fields of any known object in the universe. Disturbances to their extreme magnetic fields can cause a magnetar to release up to a thousand times more X-ray energy than it normally would for several weeks. This enhanced state is called an outburst, but the mechanisms behind them are still not well understood.
Through IXPE’s X-ray polarization measurements, scientists may be able to get closer to uncovering the mysteries of these events. Polarization carries information about the orientation and alignment of the emitted X-ray light waves; the higher the degree of polarization, the more the X-ray waves are traveling in sync, akin to a tightly choreographed dance performance. Examining the polarization characteristics of magnetars reveals clues about the energetic processes producing the observed photons as well as the direction and geometry of the magnetar magnetic fields.
The IXPE results, aided by observations from NASA’s NuSTAR and NICER telescopes, show that the X-ray emissions from 1E 1841-045 become more polarized at higher energy levels while still maintaining the same direction of propagation. A significant contribution to this high polarization degree comes from the hard X-ray tail of 1E 1841-045, an energetic magnetospheric component dominating the highest photon energies observed by IXPE. “Hard X-rays” refer to X-rays with shorter wavelengths and higher energies than “soft X-rays.” Although prevalent in magnetars, the mechanics driving the production of these high energy X-ray photons are still largely unknown. Several theories have been proposed to explain this emission, but now the high polarization associated with these hard X-rays provide further clues into their origin.
This illustration depicts IXPE’s measurements of X-ray polarization emitting from magnetar 1E 1841-045 located within the Supernova Remnant Kes 73. At the time of observation, the magnetar was in a state of outburst and emitting the luminosity equivalent to 1000 suns. By studying the X-ray polarization of magnetars experiencing an outburst scientists may be able to get closer to uncovering the mysteries of these events. Michela Rigoselli/Italian National Institute of Astrophysics The results are presented in two papers published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, one led by Rachael Stewart, a PhD student at George Washington University, and the other by Michela Rigoselli of the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics..
“This unique observation will help advance the existing models aiming to explain magnetar hard X-ray emission by requiring them to account for this very high level of synchronization we see among these hard X-ray photons,” said Stewart. “This really showcases the power of polarization measurements in constraining physics in the extreme environments of magnetars.”
Rigoselli, lead author of the companion paper, added, “It will be interesting to observe 1E 1841-045 once it has returned to its quiescent, baseline state to follow the evolution of its polarimetric properties.”
IXPE is a space observatory built to discover the secrets of some of the most extreme objects in the universe. Launched in December 2021 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on a Falcon 9 rocket, the IXPE mission is part of NASA’s Small Explorer series.
IXPE, which continues to provide unprecedented data enabling groundbreaking discoveries about celestial objects across the universe, is a joint NASA and Italian Space Agency mission with partners and science collaborators in 12 countries. IXPE is led by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. BAE Systems, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, manages spacecraft operations together with the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics in Boulder.
Learn more about IXPE’s ongoing mission here:
https://www.nasa.gov/ixpe
Media Contact
Elizabeth Landau
NASA Headquarters
elizabeth.r.landau@nasa.gov
202-358-0845
Lane Figueroa
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov
256.544.0034
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Beth Ridgeway
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Last Updated Jun 05, 2025 EditorBeth RidgewayContactLane FigueroaElizabeth R. Landauelizabeth.r.landau@nasa.govLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related Terms
IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) Astrophysics Astrophysics Division Marshall Astrophysics Marshall Science Research & Projects Marshall Space Flight Center The Universe Explore More
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By NASA
Jack Kaye [NASA HQ—Associate Director for Research, Earth Science Division (ESD)] has decided to retire on April 30, 2025, following 42 years of service to NASA – see Photo 1. Most recently, Kaye served as associate director for research of the Earth Science Division (ESD) within NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD). In this position, he was responsible for the research and data analysis programs for Earth System Science that addressed the broad spectrum of scientific disciplines from the stratopause to the poles to the oceans.
Photo 1. Jack Kaye [NASA HQ—Associate Director for Research, Earth Science Division (ESD)] retired from NASA on April 30, 2025, after a 42-year career. Photo credit: Public Domain A New York native, Kaye’s interest in space was piqued as a child watching early NASA manned space launches on television. He would often write to NASA to get pictures of the astronauts. In high school, he started an after school astronomy club. Despite a youthful interest in Earth science, as he explained in a 2014 “Maniac Talk” at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Kaye pursued a slightly different academic path. He obtained a Bachelor’s of Science in chemistry from Adelphi University in 1976 and a Ph.D. in theoretical physical chemistry at the California Institute of Technology in 1982. For his graduate studies, he focused on the quantum mechanics of chemical reactions with an aim toward being able to understand and calculate the activity.
Following graduate school, Kaye secured a post-doctoral position at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, where he studied the chemistry of Earth’s atmosphere with a focus on stratospheric ozone. It was while working in a group of meteorologists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center that Kaye returned to his roots and refocused his scientific energy on studying Earth.
“NASA had a mandate to study stratospheric ozone,” Kaye said in an interview in 2009. “I got involved in looking at satellite observations and especially trying to interpret satellite observations of stratospheric composition and building models to simulate things, to look both ways, to use the models and use the data.”
Kaye has held numerous science and leadership positions at NASA. He began his career at GSFC as a researcher for the Stratospheric General Circulation and Chemistry Modeling Project (SGCCP) from 1983–1990 working on stratospheric modeling. In this role, he also worked on an Earth Observing System Interdisciplinary proposal. His first role at NASA HQ was managing as program scientist for the Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling and Analysis Program (ACMAP), as well as numerous other missions. In this role, he was a project scientist for the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS) series of Shuttle missions. While managing ATLAS, Kaye oversaw the science carried out by a dozen instruments from several different countries. He also managed several other Earth Science missions during this time. See the link to Kaye’s “Maniac Talk.”
Kaye entered the Senior Executive Service in 1999, where he continued to contribute to the agency by managing NASA’s Earth Science Research Program. In addition, Kaye has held temporary acting positions as deputy director of ESD and deputy chief scientist for Earth Science within SMD. Throughout his career he has focused on helping early-career investigators secure their first awards to establish their career path—see Photo 2.
Photo 2. Throughout his career, Jack Kaye has been an advocate for young scientists, helping them get established in their careers. Here, Kaye speaks with the Climate Change Research Initiative cohort at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington, DC on August 7, 2024. The Earth Science Division’s Early Career Research Program’s Climate Change Research Initiative is a year-long STEM engagement and experiential learning opportunity for educators and students from high school to graduate level. Photo Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky On numerous occasions, Kaye spoke to different groups emphasizing the agency’s unique role in both developing and utilizing cutting-edge technology, especially remote observations of Earth with different satellite platforms – see Photo 3. With the launch of five new NASA Earth science campaigns in 2020, Kaye stated, “These innovative investigations tackle difficult scientific questions that require detailed, targeted field observations combined with data collected by our fleet of Earth-observing satellites.”
Photo 3. Jack Kaye hands out eclipse posters and other outreach materials to attendees at Eclipse Fest 2024. Photo credit: GRC https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/earth-science/looking-back-on-looking-up-the-2024-total-solar-eclipse/ Kaye has also represented NASA in interagency and international activities and has been an active participant in the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), where he has served for many years as NASA principal of the Subcommittee on Global Change Research. He served as NASA’s representative to the Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology and chaired the World Meteorological Organization Expert Team on Satellite Systems. Kaye was named an honorary member of the Asia Oceania Geoscience Society in 2015. He previously completed a six-year term as a member of the Steering Committee for the Global Climate Observing System and currently serves an ex officio member of the National Research Council’s Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability and the Chemical Sciences Roundtable, as well as a member of the Roundtable on Global Science Diplomacy.
NASA has honored Kaye with numerous awards, including the Distinguished Service Medal in 2022 and the Meritorious Executive in the Senior Executive Service in 2004, 2010, and 2021. In 2024 he was awarded the NASA-USGS Pecora Individual Award honoring excellence in Earth Observation. He was named a Fellow by the American Meteorological Society in 2010 and by the American Association of the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2014. Kaye was elected to serve as an office of the Atmospheric and Hydrospheric Science section of the AAAS (2015–2018). AGU has recognized him on two occasions with a Citation for Excellence in Refereeing.
Over the course of his career Kaye has published more than 50 papers, contributed to numerous reports, books, and encyclopedias, and edited the book Isotope Effects in Gas-Phase Chemistry for the American Chemical Society. In addition, he has attended the Leadership for Democratic Society program at the Federal Executive Institute and the Harvard Senior Managers in Government Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
“The vantage point of space provides a way to look at the Earth globally, with the ability to observe Earth’s interacting components of air, water, land and ice, and both naturally occurring and human-induced processes,” Kaye said in a November 2024 article published by Penn State University. “It lets us look at variability on a broad range of spatial and temporal scales and given the decades of accomplishments, has allowed us to characterize and document Earth system variability on time scales from minutes to decades.”
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