NuSTAR Bringing the High Energy Universe into Focus

With the goal of understanding why the Sun’s corona is so much hotter than its surface, NuSTAR obtained high-energy X-ray observations of the solar corona in coordination with the July 30th suborbital sounding rocket flight of the Marshall Grazing Incidence X-ray Spectrometer (MaGIXS) low-energy X-ray instrument.

For the first time, astronomers have singled out light coming from behind a black hole, enabling them to study the processes on its far side.

Known as ultraluminous X-ray sources, the emitters are easy to spot when viewed straight on, but they might be hidden from view if they point even slightly away from Earth.