                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2021 December 22

                       Launch of the IXPE Observatory
                  Image Credit & Copyright: Jordan Sirokie

   Explanation: Birds don't fly this high. Airplanes don't go this fast.
   The Statue of Liberty weighs less. No species other than human can even
   comprehend what is going on, nor could any human just a millennium ago.
   The launch of a rocket bound for space is an event that inspires awe
   and challenges description. Pictured here, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket
   lifted off from Kennedy Space Center, Florida earlier this month
   carrying the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). IXPE is
   scheduled to observe high-energy objects such as neutron stars, black
   holes, and the centers of distant galaxies to better determine the
   physics and geometries that create and control them. From a standing
   start, the 300,000+ kilogram rocket ship lifted IXPE up to circle the
   Earth, where the outside air is too thin to breathe. Rockets bound for
   space are now launched from somewhere on Earth every few days.

                  Launch Update: James Webb Space Telescope
                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

