NASA boasts a revolutionary sensor with a resolution of… 36 pixels

This “camera” has a specific optical system made of mirrors that creates a radiation funnel, thanks to which it focuses on the aforementioned 36-pixel sensor. Unlike classical photographic matrices, which use the internal photoelectric effect and measure the voltage generated by photons entering the matrix pixels, The solution measures the temperature change of the pixel that absorbs cosmic X-rays. To make this possible, The sensor is cooled using liquid helium to a temperature of 0.05 Kwhich is slightly above absolute zero and below the average temperature of the universe.

Thanks to this information, researchers can learn a lot about the chemical composition of the observed object, among other things, and whether it is moving away from us or approaching us. The XRISM satellite was launched from Japan on September 6, 2023 and is currently providing preliminary data. Correct observation of supernovae, black holes, nebulae, neutron stars, galaxy clusters and other objects It is scheduled to start in July this year. XRISM is unlikely to provide us with images as impressive as the Hubble or James Webb telescopes, but its 36 pixels will allow us to better understand things that these two space telescopes can't even see, and in fact they account for most of the galaxy's mass. The visible universe.