{"id":48760,"date":"2023-08-29T06:24:40","date_gmt":"2023-08-29T06:24:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/b7425eb9-c14a-4005-aa86-3b227e39877e"},"modified":"2023-08-29T06:32:29","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T06:32:29","slug":"launch-of-japans-xrism-spacecraft-postponed-due-to-adverse-weather","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/launch-of-japans-xrism-spacecraft-postponed-due-to-adverse-weather\/","title":{"rendered":"Launch of Japan’s XRISM spacecraft postponed due to adverse weather"},"content":{"rendered":"

Find out how to watch the live launch of Japan’s XRISM mission. <\/p>

By Iain Todd\n <\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 29 August 2023 at 06:24 AM<\/p>

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The launch of Japan’s XRISM spacecraft has been postponed, a statement from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has said.<\/p>

Over the past weekend, space fans were eagerly awaiting the launch of XRISM, a new spacecraft that will observe the hottest, most chaotic known places in the Universe.<\/p>

XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) had been scheduled to launch from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan on 28 August, but weather conditions caused the launch to be called off.<\/p>\n

Artist’s impression of the Japanese XRISM spacecraft, which is tasked with studying some of the hottest places in the Universe. Credit: JAXA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

JAXA said the postponement of the XRISM launch was because “upper winds did not meet the launch conditions.”<\/p>

“The new launch date and time will be announced once confirmed.”<\/p>

The mission is a joint venture between the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NASA, with participation from the European Space Agency (ESA).<\/p>

JAXA is livestreaming the event, which you can watch at the bottom of this article.<\/p>

What will XRISM do?<\/strong><\/h2>

\u201cX-ray astronomy enables us to study the most energetic phenomena in the Universe,” says Matteo Guainazzi, ESA project scientist for XRISM.<\/p>

“It holds the key to answering important questions in modern astrophysics<\/p>

“How the largest structures in the Universe evolve, how the matter we are ultimately composed of was distributed through the cosmos.<\/p>

“And how galaxies<\/a> are shaped by massive black holes<\/a> at their centres.”<\/p>\n

\"Infographic
Credit: JAXA\/ESA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWith current instruments, we\u2019re only capable of seeing these fingerprints in a comparatively blurry way,\u201d says Brian Williams, NASA\u2019s XRISM project scientist.<\/p>

\u201cResolve will effectively give X-ray astrophysics a spectrometer with a magnifying glass.\u201d<\/p>

XRISM is expected to shed light on exploding stars (supernovae<\/a>), black holes and their host galaxies, and galaxy clusters<\/a>.<\/p>

You can find out more about the science behind the spacecraft in our guide to the XRISM mission<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

And you can watch the livestream of the XRISM launch below.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

What the XRISM launch live<\/strong><\/h2>
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