The X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) — a space telescope led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, in collaboration with NASA with additional contributions from the European Space Agency — has produced its first test images: one of supernova remnant N123D and one of galaxy cluster Abell 2319.
Launched in September 2023, on the same rocket as Japan's SLIM moon lander, XRISM (pronounced "crism") will study some of the most violent and extreme phenomena in the universe, from intense outbursts from black holes to super-hot gas clouds surrounding galaxy clusters, to learn more about the evolution of the cosmos. It's designed to detect powerful X-rays measuring up to 12,000 electron volts; visible light, by comparison, has energies of just 2 to 3 electron volts.
