ISRO to launch historic XPoSat mission to study cosmic X ray sources on Jan 1: When and where to watch live

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch its first mission of the year 2024 on Monday, January 1. The ISRO will blast off the XPoSat (X ray Polarimeter Satellite) on a PSLV C58 rocket on Monday. "XPoSat (X ray Polarimeter Satellite) is dynamics of bright astronomical X ray sources in extreme conditions," the ISRO said.

When to watch XPoSat launch The on Monday, January 1, 2024. The launch is planned from "the first launch pad, SDSC SHAR (SatishLive Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota), Sriharikota," said. Where to watch live The ISRO said the launch can be viewed LIVE from 08:40 am on: Youtube ( ) ISRO website ( ) ISRO's Facebook account ( ) DD National's account on X ( ) All about XPoSat XPoSat is the "first dedicated scientific satellite from the ISRO to carry out research in space based polarisation measurements of ", the space agency said.

The X ray polarisation serves as a crucial diagnostic tool for examining the radiation mechanism and geometry of celestial sources. "The emission mechanism from various , neutron stars, active galactic nuclei, pulsar wind nebulae etc. originates from complex physical processes and are challenging to understand," the ISRO said.

One of the , "would observe several types of sources viz X ray pulsars, blackhole binaries, low magnetic field neutron star (NS) in LMXBs, AGNs and Magnetars". Another payload POLIX "is expected to observe about 40 bright astronomical sources of different categories during the planned lifetime of XPoSat mission of about 5 years".

The PSLV C58 rocket, in its 60th mission, would carry primary payload XPoSat and 10 other satellites to be deployed in low earth orbits. How will the XPoSat mission help? XPoSat is anticipated to bring substantial benefits to the Astronomy community globally. While space based X ray astronomy has been established in India focusing on imaging, and time domain studies, the mission to be launched on January 1 marks a major value addition to the scientific fraternity, the space agency was quoted by as saying.

Apart from its capability of timing and spectroscopy based observations, the insights derived from X ray polarisation measurements on celestial objects like black holes, neutron stars, and active galactic nuclei, hold the potential to significantly improve the understanding of their physics. The mission is poised to play a pivotal role in building expertise in X ray polarimetry in India, providing a foundation for future advancements and fostering a collaborative network within the astronomy community.

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