Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Alt text: Illustration of the Cygnus X-3 system
Image description: On a cloudy reddish background, a bright blue-white circle — a representation of a hot, bright, massive star — sits near the center. Wisps of blue-white border its edges, and many lines of similar color radiate from it. In the foreground at about 4 o’clock lies a yellowish ring with a black hole in its center. From the ring trails a diffuse yellow arc, sweeping from right to left and exiting at the bottom of the illustration. Extending above and below the black hole are two blue-white triangles representing particle jets.
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"alt_text": "Cygnus X-3 is a high-mass X-ray binary system consisting of a compact object (likely a black hole) and a Wolf-Rayet star. This artist's concept shows one interpretation of the system. High-resolution X-ray spectroscopy indicates two gas components: a heavy background outflow, or wind, produced by the massive star and a turbulent structure — perhaps a wake carved into the wind — located close to the orbiting companion. As shown here, a black hole's gravity captures some of the wind into an accretion disk around it, and the disk's orbital motion sculpts a path (yellow arc) through the streaming gas. During strong outbursts, the companion emits jets of particles moving near the speed of light, seen here extending above and below the black hole.Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight CenterAlt text: Illustration of the Cygnus X-3 systemImage description: On a cloudy reddish background, a bright blue-white circle — a representation of a hot, bright, massive star — sits near the center. Wisps of blue-white border its edges, and many lines of similar color radiate from it. In the foreground at about 4 o’clock lies a yellowish ring with a black hole in its center. From the ring trails a diffuse yellow arc, sweeping from right to left and exiting at the bottom of the illustration. Extending above and below the black hole are two blue-white triangles representing particle jets. ",
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"alt_text": "Cygnus X-3 is a high-mass X-ray binary system consisting of a compact object (likely a black hole) and a Wolf-Rayet star. This artist's concept shows one interpretation of the system. High-resolution X-ray spectroscopy indicates two gas components: a heavy background outflow, or wind, produced by the massive star and a turbulent structure — perhaps a wake carved into the wind — located close to the orbiting companion. As shown here, a black hole's gravity captures some of the wind into an accretion disk around it, and the disk's orbital motion sculpts a path (yellow arc) through the streaming gas. During strong outbursts, the companion emits jets of particles moving near the speed of light, seen here extending above and below the black hole.Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight CenterAlt text: Illustration of the Cygnus X-3 systemImage description: On a cloudy reddish background, a bright blue-white circle — a representation of a hot, bright, massive star — sits near the center. Wisps of blue-white border its edges, and many lines of similar color radiate from it. In the foreground at about 4 o’clock lies a yellowish ring with a black hole in its center. From the ring trails a diffuse yellow arc, sweeping from right to left and exiting at the bottom of the illustration. Extending above and below the black hole are two blue-white triangles representing particle jets. ",
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"description": "The Japan-led XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) observatory has captured the most detailed portrait yet of gases flowing within Cygnus X-3, one of the most studied sources in the X-ray sky.
Cygnus X-3 is a binary that pairs a rare type of high-mass star with a compact companion — likely a black hole. The components are so close they complete an orbit in just 4.8 hours.
The star makes the system especially intriguing. It's a Wolf-Rayet star, a type that has evolved to the point where strong outflows called stellar winds strip gas from the star’s surface and drive it outward. The compact object sweeps up and heats some of this gas, causing it to emit X-rays.
XRISM (pronounced “crism”) is led by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) in collaboration with NASA, along with contributions from ESA (European Space Agency). NASA and JAXA developed the mission’s microcalorimeter spectrometer instrument, named Resolve.
Observing Cygnus X-3 for 18 hours in late March, Resolve acquired a high-resolution spectrum that allows astronomers to better understand the complex gas dynamics operating there. These include outflowing gas produced by a hot, massive star, its interaction with the compact companion, and a turbulent region that may represent a wake produced by the companion as it orbits through the outrushing gas.
Cygnus X-3 is thought to lie about 32,000 light-years away in the direction of the northern constellation Cygnus. While thick dust clouds in our galaxy’s central plane obscure the system's visible light, the binary has been studied in radio, infrared, and gamma-ray light, as well as in X-rays.
The system is immersed in the star’s streaming gas, which is illuminated and ionized by X-rays from the compact companion. The gas both emits and absorbs X-rays, and many of the spectrum’s prominent peaks and valleys incorporate both aspects. Yet a simple attempt at understanding the spectrum comes up short because some of the features appear to be in the wrong place.
That’s because the rapid motion of the gas displaces these features from their normal laboratory energies due to the Doppler effect. Absorption valleys typically shift up to higher energies, indicating gas moving toward us at speeds of up to 930,000 mph (1.5 million kph). Emission peaks shift down to lower energies, indicating gas moving away from us at slower speeds.
Some spectral features displayed much stronger absorption valleys than emission peaks. The reason for this imbalance, the team concludes, is that the dynamics of the stellar wind allow the moving gas to absorb a broader range of X-ray energies emitted by the companion. The detail of the XRISM spectrum, particularly at higher energies rich in features produced by ionized iron atoms, allowed the scientists to disentangle these effects.",
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"description": "XRISM’s Resolve instrument has captured the most detailed X-ray spectrum yet acquired of Cygnus X-3. Peaks indicate X-rays emitted by ionized gases, and valleys form where the gases absorb X-rays; many lines are also shifted to both higher and lower energies by gas motions. Top: The full Resolve spectrum, from 2 to 8 keV (kiloelectron volts), tracks X-rays with thousands of times the energy of visible light. Some lines are labeled with the names of the elements that produced them, such as sulfur, argon, and calcium, along with Roman numerals that refer to the number of electrons these atoms have lost. Bottom: A zoom into a region of the spectrum often dominated by features produced by transitions in the innermost electron shell (K shell) of iron atoms. These features form when the atoms interact with high-energy X-rays or electrons and respond by emitting a photon at energies between 6.4 and 7 keV. These details, clearly visible for the first time with XRISM’s Resolve instrument, will help astronomers refine their understanding of this unusual system.
Credit: JAXA/NASA/XRISM Collaboration
Alt text: XRISM Resolve X-ray spectrum of Cygnus X-3
Image description: Two graphs appear on a dark blue background. The text at the top reads “XRISM Resolve Spectrum of Cygnus X-3.” The top graph, which takes up the upper third of the image, has a lighter blue background that darkens from top to bottom, an even brighter squiggly line that arcs across the graph, and yellow text such as “Sulfur XV” and Calcium XX.” X-ray brightness increases from bottom to top, and X-ray energy (measured in thousands of electron volts, or keV) increases from left to right. An orange box labeled “Area of detail” surrounds a series of peaks and valleys near the right end and identifies the region shown in the bottom graph. The lower chart is labeled “Iron K-alpha region” and shows prominent emission and absorption features produced by iron.
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The text at the top reads “XRISM Resolve Spectrum of Cygnus X-3.” The top graph, which takes up the upper third of the image, has a lighter blue background that darkens from top to bottom, an even brighter squiggly line that arcs across the graph, and yellow text such as “Sulfur XV” and Calcium XX.” X-ray brightness increases from bottom to top, and X-ray energy (measured in thousands of electron volts, or keV) increases from left to right. An orange box labeled “Area of detail” surrounds a series of peaks and valleys near the right end and identifies the region shown in the bottom graph. The lower chart is labeled “Iron K-alpha region” and shows prominent emission and absorption features produced by iron. 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", "width": 320, "height": 249, "pixels": 79680 } }, { "id": 443489, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1139079, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014707/Cyg_X3_spectrum_sml_thm.png", "filename": "Cyg_X3_spectrum_sml_thm.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "XRISM’s Resolve instrument has captured the most detailed X-ray spectrum yet acquired of Cygnus X-3. Peaks indicate X-rays emitted by ionized gases, and valleys form where the gases absorb X-rays; many lines are also shifted to both higher and lower energies by gas motions. Top: The full Resolve spectrum, from 2 to 8 keV (kiloelectron volts), tracks X-rays with thousands of times the energy of visible light. Some lines are labeled with the names of the elements that produced them, such as sulfur, argon, and calcium, along with Roman numerals that refer to the number of electrons these atoms have lost. Bottom: A zoom into a region of the spectrum often dominated by features produced by transitions in the innermost electron shell (K shell) of iron atoms. These features form when the atoms interact with high-energy X-rays or electrons and respond by emitting a photon at energies between 6.4 and 7 keV. These details, clearly visible for the first time with XRISM’s Resolve instrument, will help astronomers refine their understanding of this unusual system.Credit: JAXA/NASA/XRISM CollaborationAlt text: XRISM Resolve X-ray spectrum of Cygnus X-3 Image description: Two graphs appear on a dark blue background. The text at the top reads “XRISM Resolve Spectrum of Cygnus X-3.” The top graph, which takes up the upper third of the image, has a lighter blue background that darkens from top to bottom, an even brighter squiggly line that arcs across the graph, and yellow text such as “Sulfur XV” and Calcium XX.” X-ray brightness increases from bottom to top, and X-ray energy (measured in thousands of electron volts, or keV) increases from left to right. An orange box labeled “Area of detail” surrounds a series of peaks and valleys near the right end and identifies the region shown in the bottom graph. The lower chart is labeled “Iron K-alpha region” and shows prominent emission and absorption features produced by iron. ", "width": 80, "height": 40, "pixels": 3200 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 377085, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14707/#media_group_377085", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Short, animated version of artist's concept illustration plus spectrum.", "items": [ { "id": 446878, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1141211, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014707/XRISM_Cyg-X3_Spectrum_Animation.00125_print.jpg", "filename": "XRISM_Cyg-X3_Spectrum_Animation.00125_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Short, animated version of artist's concept illustration plus spectrum.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 446877, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1141210, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014707/XRISM_Cyg-X3_Spectrum_Animation.mp4", "filename": "XRISM_Cyg-X3_Spectrum_Animation.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Short, animated version of artist's concept illustration plus spectrum.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 376531, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14707/#media_group_376531", "widget": "Basic text", "title": "For More Information", "caption": "", "description": "See [NASA.gov](https://science.nasa.gov/missions/xrism/nasa-jaxa-xrism-mission-looks-deeply-into-hidden-stellar-system/)", "items": [], "extra_data": {} } ], "studio": "gms", "funding_sources": [ "NASA Astrophysics" ], "credits": [ { "role": "Science writer", "people": [ { "name": "Francis Reddy", "employer": "University of Maryland College Park" } ] }, { "role": "Illustrator", "people": [ { "name": "Scott Wiessinger", "employer": "eMITS" } ] }, { "role": "Graphics", "people": [ { "name": "Francis Reddy", "employer": "University of Maryland College Park" } ] }, { "role": "Scientist", "people": [ { "name": "Tim Kallman", "employer": "NASA/GSFC" }, { "name": "Ralf Ballhausen", "employer": "University of Maryland College Park" } ] } ], "missions": [ "XRISM" ], "series": [ "Astrophysics Stills" ], "tapes": [], "papers": [], "datasets": [], "nasa_science_categories": [ "Universe" ], "keywords": [ "Ast", "Astrophysics", "Binary", "Black Hole", "Space", "Spectrum", "Star", "Universe", "X-ray", "XRISM" ], "recommended_pages": [], "related": [ { "id": 14968, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14968/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "XRISM Clocks Hot Wind of Galaxy M82", "description": "The Resolve instrument aboard the XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) spacecraft captured data revealing the velocity of the hot wind at the center of starburst galaxy M82. The energy range of iron emission lines show that the gas moves around 2 million miles (about 3 million kilometers) per hour. Inset: XRISM Xtend instrument’s image of M82.Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, JAXA/NASA, XRISM Collaboration et al. 2026Alt text: Spectrum and image of galaxy M82Image description: This image is labeled, “XRISM Resolve Measures the Hot Wind of Starburst Galaxy M82.” It shows a graph where the bottom is labeled, “X-ray energy (keV),” with a range from 2 to 9. The left side is labeled “X-ray brightness.” A squiggly white line starts near the bottom of the left side. Several peaks are labeled, including silicon, sulfur, argon, and calcium. Four peaks are identified as iron. In the upper right corner, a small inset shows an image that looks like a purple pansy with a yellow center. || v3_XRISM_Resolve_M82.jpg (4412x2993) [2.6 MB] || v3_XRISM_Resolve_M82_searchweb.png (320x180) [46.6 KB] || v3_XRISM_Resolve_M82_thm.png (80x40) [4.6 KB] || ", "release_date": "2026-03-25T12:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2026-03-25T12:01:25-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 1202714, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014900/a014968/v3_XRISM_Resolve_M82_searchweb.png", "filename": "v3_XRISM_Resolve_M82_searchweb.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "The Resolve instrument aboard the XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) spacecraft captured data revealing the velocity of the hot wind at the center of starburst galaxy M82. The energy range of iron emission lines show that the gas moves around 2 million miles (about 3 million kilometers) per hour. Inset: XRISM Xtend instrument’s image of M82.\r\rCredit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, JAXA/NASA, XRISM Collaboration et al. 2026\r\rAlt text: Spectrum and image of galaxy M82\r\rImage description: This image is labeled, “XRISM Resolve Measures the Hot Wind of Starburst Galaxy M82.” It shows a graph where the bottom is labeled, “X-ray energy (keV),” with a range from 2 to 9. The left side is labeled “X-ray brightness.” A squiggly white line starts near the bottom of the left side. Several peaks are labeled, including silicon, sulfur, argon, and calcium. Four peaks are identified as iron. In the upper right corner, a small inset shows an image that looks like a purple pansy with a yellow center.", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 14868, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14868/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "XRISM Satellite X-rays Milky Way’s Sulfur in Detail", "description": "An international team of scientists have provided an unprecedented tally of elemental sulfur spread between the stars using data from the Japan-led XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) spacecraft.Astronomers used X-rays from two binary star systems to detect sulfur in the interstellar medium, the gas and dust found in the space between stars. It’s the first direct measurement of both sulfur’s gas and solid phases, a unique capability of X-ray spectroscopy, XRISM’s (pronounced “crism”) primary method of studying the cosmos.Using ultraviolet light, researchers have found gaseous sulfur in the space between stars. In denser parts of the interstellar medium, such as the molecular clouds where stars and planets are born, this form of sulfur quickly disappears.Scientists assume the sulfur condenses into a solid, either by combining with ice or mixing with other elements.When a doctor performs an X-ray here on Earth, they place the patient between an X-ray source and a detector. Bone and tissue absorb different amounts of the light as it travels through the patient's body, creating contrast in the detector.Scientists did something similar by picking a portion of the interstellar medium with the right density — not so thin that all the X-rays would pass through unchanged, but also not so dense that they would all be absorbed.Then they selected a bright X-ray source behind that section of the medium, a binary star system called GX 340+0 located over 35,000 light-years away in the southern constellation Scorpius.Using the Resolve instrument on XRISM, the researchers were able to measure the energy of GX 340+0’s X-rays and determined that sulfur was present not only as a gas, but also as a solid, possibly mixed with iron.Iron-sulfur compounds are often found in meteorites, so scientists have long thought they might be one way sulfur solidifies out of molecular clouds to travel through the universe. XRISM’s observations could match a few of these compounds — pyrrhotite, troilite, and pyrite, which is sometimes called fool’s gold.The researchers were also able to use measurements from a second X-ray binary called 4U 1630-472 that helped confirm their findings. || ", "release_date": "2025-07-23T00:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2025-07-23T11:18:33-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 1157083, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014800/a014868/GX_340+0_DECaPS_print.jpg", "filename": "GX_340+0_DECaPS_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This composite shows a section of the interstellar medium scientists X-rayed for sulfur using the Japan-led XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission). X-ray binary GX 340+0 is the blue dot in the center. The composite contains a blend of imagery in X-rays (represented in deep blue), infrared, and light.Credit: DSS/DECaPS/eRosita/NASA’s Goddard Space Flight CenterAlt text: Optical, infrared, and X-ray composite image of a portion of the interstellar gas and dust with an X-ray source at the centerImage description: A bright blue dot is at the center of this star field. Yellow, red, blue, and white dots speckle the rest of the image, some buried in green-tinted swirls of dust.", "width": 1024, "height": 603, "pixels": 617472 } }, { "id": 14463, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14463/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "XRISM Mission Captures Unmatched Data With Just 36 Pixels", "description": "Watch to learn more about how the Resolve instrument aboard XRISM captures extraordinary data on the make-up of galaxy clusters, exploded stars, and more using only 36 pixels.Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight CenterMusic: \"Stop and Hide\" and \"Wading Through\" from Universal Production MusicWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || XRISM_36_Pixels_Still.jpg (1920x1080) [959.9 KB] || XRISM_36_Pixels_Still_searchweb.png (320x180) [94.7 KB] || XRISM_36_Pixels_Still_thm.png (80x40) [7.0 KB] || 14463_XRISM_36Pixels_Good.mp4 (1920x1080) [148.9 MB] || 14463_XRISM_36Pixels_Best.mp4 (1920x1080) [514.8 MB] || 14463_XRISM_36Pixels_Captions.en_US.srt [4.6 KB] || 14463_XRISM_36Pixels_Captions.en_US.vtt [4.4 KB] || 14463_XRISM_36Pixels_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [2.4 GB] || ", "release_date": "2024-04-30T11:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2024-04-26T12:18:10.001194-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 1091669, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014400/a014463/XRISM_36_Pixels_Still.jpg", "filename": "XRISM_36_Pixels_Still.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Watch to learn more about how the Resolve instrument aboard XRISM captures extraordinary data on the make-up of galaxy clusters, exploded stars, and more using only 36 pixels.Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight CenterMusic: \"Stop and Hide\" and \"Wading Through\" from Universal Production MusicWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 14492, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14492/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "XRISM Reveals Its First Look at X-ray Cosmos", "description": "XRISM’s Resolve instrument captured data from supernova remnant N132D in the Large Magellanic Cloud to create the most detailed X-ray spectrum of the object ever made. The spectrum reveals peaks associated with silicon, sulfur, argon, calcium, and iron. Inset at right is an image of N132D captured by XRISM’s Xtend instrument.Credit: JAXA/NASA/XRISM Resolve and Xtend || Resolve_N132D_Spectrum.jpg (3840x2395) [1.0 MB] || Resolve_N132D_Spectrum_searchweb.png (320x180) [45.7 KB] || Resolve_N132D_Spectrum_thm.png (80x40) [4.7 KB] || ", "release_date": "2024-01-05T08:50:00-05:00", "update_date": "2024-01-04T14:59:46.354457-05:00", "main_image": { "id": 1088374, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014400/a014492/Resolve_N132D_Spectrum_searchweb.png", "filename": "Resolve_N132D_Spectrum_searchweb.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "XRISM’s Resolve instrument captured data from supernova remnant N132D in the Large Magellanic Cloud to create the most detailed X-ray spectrum of the object ever made. The spectrum reveals peaks associated with silicon, sulfur, argon, calcium, and iron. Inset at right is an image of N132D captured by XRISM’s Xtend instrument.\r\rCredit: JAXA/NASA/XRISM Resolve and Xtend", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 14405, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14405/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "XRISM: Exploring the Hidden X-ray Cosmos", "description": "Watch this video to learn more about XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission), a collaboration between JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and NASA.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterMusic Credits: Universal Production MusicLights On by Hugh Robert Edwin Wilkinson Dreams by Jez Fox and Rohan JonesChanging Tide by Rob ManningWandering Imagination by Joel GoodmanIn Unison by Samuel Sim || YTframe_XRISM_Exploring_XrayCosmos.jpg (1280x720) [668.5 KB] || YTframe_XRISM_Exploring_XrayCosmos_searchweb.png (320x180) [100.3 KB] || YTframe_XRISM_Exploring_XrayCosmos_thm.png (80x40) [7.6 KB] || XRISM_Exploring_the_Hidden_Xray_Cosmos.en_US_FR.en_US.srt [7.8 KB] || XRISM_Exploring_the_Hidden_Xray_Cosmos.en_US_FR.en_US.vtt [7.4 KB] || XRISM_Exploring_the_Hidden_Xray_Cosmos.webm (3840x2160) [107.8 MB] || XRISM_Exploring_the_Hidden_Xray_Cosmos.mp4 (3840x2160) [3.4 GB] || XRISM_Exploring_the_Hidden_Xray_Cosmos.mov (3840x2160) [21.6 GB] || ", "release_date": "2023-08-25T10:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-08-25T10:58:17.399336-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 858110, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014400/a014405/YTframe_XRISM_Exploring_XrayCosmos.jpg", "filename": "YTframe_XRISM_Exploring_XrayCosmos.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Watch this video to learn more about XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission), a collaboration between JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and NASA.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterMusic Credits: Universal Production MusicLights On by Hugh Robert Edwin Wilkinson Dreams by Jez Fox and Rohan JonesChanging Tide by Rob ManningWandering Imagination by Joel GoodmanIn Unison by Samuel Sim", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 12956, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12956/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Spectroscopy, Explained", "description": "Video producer Sophia Roberts explains the basic principles behind spectroscopy, the science of reading light to determine the size, distance, spin and chemical composition of distant objects in space. 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Complete transcript available.Music Credits:Universal Production MusicOxygenate the Idea – by Amon Turner, Banksman, Eben Stone\rJungle Bounce – by Siddharth NadkarniSilent Patient – by Paul Reeves \rBackground Story - by Peter Larsen\rData Dynamism – by Florian Moenks and Aron Wright\r Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 14374, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14374/", "page_type": "Infographic", "title": "A Guide to Cosmic Temperatures", "description": "Explore the temperatures of the cosmos, from absolute zero to the hottest temperatures yet achieved, with this infographic. Targets for the XRISM mission include supernova remnants, binary systems with stellar-mass black holes, galaxies powered by supermassive black holes, and vast clusters of galaxies.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott WiessingerMachine-readable PDF copy || Cosmic_Temperatures_Infographic_Final_small.jpg (1383x2048) [1.3 MB] || Cosmic_Temperatures_Infographic_Final_Full.png (5530x8192) [60.5 MB] || Cosmic_Temperatures_Infographic_Final_Full.jpg (5530x8192) [10.3 MB] || Cosmic_Temperatures_Infographic_Final_8bit.png (5530x8192) [24.5 MB] || Cosmic_Temperatures_Infographic_Final_Half.png (2765x4096) [7.0 MB] || Cosmic_Temperatures_Infographic_Final_Half.jpg (2765x4096) [4.7 MB] || ", "release_date": "2023-08-03T11:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2024-09-05T08:52:57.444735-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 856133, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014300/a014374/Temperature_Infographic_Crop.jpg", "filename": "Temperature_Infographic_Crop.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Cropped image for thumbnail", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 14389, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14389/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "XRISM Additional Images", "description": "The XRISM spacecraft during acoustic testing at JAXA's Tsukuba Space Center in December 2022. These and other tests confirm that the spacecraft can withstand the severe vibrations and sounds of its rocket launch.Credit: JAXA || XRISM_Acoustic_12_23_22.jpg (2832x4240) [6.9 MB] || ", "release_date": "2023-08-01T13:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-07-31T19:53:23.924915-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 857083, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014300/a014389/XRISM_logo_searchweb.png", "filename": "XRISM_logo_searchweb.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "XRISM mission mark.Credit: JAXA", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 20374, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20374/", "page_type": "Animation", "title": "XRISM Beauty Shots", "description": "XRISM turntable animations, available both as 4K/30 and 60 fps movies and as frames. The exposed tank behind the truss structure on the side opposite the solar panels houses the Resolve instrument.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab || XRISM_360_4k_30fps_4444ProRes.00001_print.jpg (1024x576) [56.9 KB] || XRISM_360_4k_30fps_4444ProRes.00001_searchweb.png (180x320) [21.2 KB] || XRISM_360_4k_30fps_4444ProRes.00001_thm.png (80x40) [2.3 KB] || XRISM_360_4k_30fps_h264.mov (1920x1080) [25.3 MB] || XRISM_360_4k_60fps_h264.mov (1920x1080) [112.2 MB] || XRISM_360_4k_30fps (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || XRISM_360_4k_60fps (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || XRISM_360_4k_30fps_4444ProRes.webm [0 bytes] || XRISM_360_4k_30fps_h264.mp4 (3840x2160) [24.7 MB] || XRISM_360_4k_60fps_h264.mp4 (3840x2160) [73.8 MB] || XRISM_360_4k_30fps_4444ProRes.mov (3840x2160) [1.7 GB] || XRISM_360_4k_60fps_4444ProRes.mov (3840x2160) [10.0 GB] || ", "release_date": "2022-12-12T00:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T11:43:49.072206-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 368685, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a020000/a020300/a020374/XRISM_360_4k_30fps_4444ProRes.00001_print.jpg", "filename": "XRISM_360_4k_30fps_4444ProRes.00001_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "XRISM turntable animations, available both as 4K/30 and 60 fps movies and as frames. The exposed tank behind the truss structure on the side opposite the solar panels houses the Resolve instrument.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 10531, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10531/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Fermi telescope detects gamma-rays from Cygnus X-3", "description": "In Cygnus X-3, a hot, massive star is paired with a compact object — either a neutron star or a black hole — that blasts twin radio-emitting jets of matter into space at more than half the speed of light. Astronomers call these systems microquasars. Their properties — strong emission across a broad range of wavelengths, rapid brightness changes, and radio jets — resemble miniature versions of distant galaxies (called quasars and blazars) whose emissions are thought to be powered by enormous black holes. Cygnus X-3, first detected in 1966 as among the sky's strongest X-ray sources, was also one of the earliest claimed gamma-ray sources. Efforts to confirm those observations helped spur the development of improved gamma-ray detectors, a legacy culminating in the Large Area Telescope (LAT) aboard NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. || ", "release_date": "2009-11-26T12:59:00-05:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:54:28.132629-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 495204, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010500/a010531/Cyg0060.00002_print.jpg", "filename": "Cyg0060.00002_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Fermi telescope detects gamma-rays from Cygnus X-3", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } } ], "sources": [], "products": [], "newer_versions": [], "older_versions": [], "alternate_versions": [] }