IXPE stands for Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer and was launched in December 9, 2021. Its main goal is to study cosmic objects like black holes and neutron stars such as Magnetars and pulsars that emit huge amount of polarized X-ray radiation. This probe orbits above 600 kms over our planet's equator. IXPE also studies the magnetic fields of supernova remnants. Its observation will help astronomers understand the origin and other stories surrounding these supernova remnants. And that is possible through the studying of its polarized x-rays that these objects emits. "Now you might be wondering, what exactly do I mean by polarized X-rays? Fear not, let me put it into simple words. Light is an electromagnetic wave that vibrates as it travels. Since normal light is made of oscillating electrical and magnetic fields, it vibrates in every possible direction. This is why light from a normal household bulb is unpolarized. But on a cosmic scale, things get extreme. In the intense magnetic environments surrounding black holes and neutron stars, electrons are forced to spin in highly organized tracks. When these particles emit X-rays, the light is born with its vibrations already locked and aligned into just one single direction. That is what we call polarized light. Here is why it is important. Normal x-ray telescopes will just tell you the temperature of an object but they cannot tell you about magnetic fields, shape of a disk around a black hole but a polarized x-ray light can. In February 2022, the first ever images were released of its observations. They were of an supernova remnant called Cassiopeia A. In October 2022, it also observed a gamma ray burst GRB 2221009A, which is sometimes referred to as the 'brightest of all times'.
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