Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory

IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer)
Astrophysics
Chandra X-Ray Observatory
Galaxies
Galaxy clusters
Marshall Astrophysics
Marshall Science Projects
Marshall Science Research & Projects
Marshall Space Flight Center
Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory
The Universe
X-ray Astronomy
Written by Michael Allen An international team of astronomers using NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) has identified the origin of X-rays in a supermassive black hole’s jet, answering a question that has been unresolved since the earliest days of X-ray astronomy.
Posted December 16, 2025
Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory
Goddard Space Flight Center
Missions
NASA Headquarters
SBIR
Space Technology Mission Directorate
Driving rapid innovation in the American space industry, NASA has awarded Katalyst Space Technologies of Flagstaff, Arizona, a contract to raise a spacecraft’s orbit.
Posted September 24, 2025
Astrophysics
Black Holes
Gaia
Goddard Space Flight Center
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory
NEOWISE
The Universe
WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer)
Black holes are invisible to us unless they interact with something else. Some continuously eat gas and dust, and appear to glow brightly over time as matter falls in. But other black holes secretly lie in wait for years until a star comes close enough to snack on. A new study using space and ground-based […]
Posted June 4, 2025
Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory
Spitzer Space Telescope
Stars
This Oct. 4, 2017, illustration shows a hypothetical uneven ring of dust orbiting KIC 8462852, also known as Boyajian’s Star or Tabby’s Star. The star has experienced unusual dips in brightness over a matter of days, as well as much subtler but longer-term dimming trends.
Posted November 21, 2024
Astrophysics
Gamma-Ray Bursts
Goddard Space Flight Center
Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory
The Universe
After two decades in space, NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is performing better than ever thanks to a new operational strategy implemented earlier this year. The spacecraft has made great scientific strides in the years since scientists dreamed up a new way to explore gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful explosions in the universe.
Posted November 20, 2024
Astrophysics
Black Holes
Galaxies, Stars, & Black Holes
Galaxies, Stars, & Black Holes Research
Goddard Space Flight Center
Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory
Science & Research
Supermassive Black Holes
The Universe
Scientists using observations from NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory have discovered, for the first time, the signal from a pair of monster black holes disrupting a cloud of gas in the center of a galaxy. “It’s a very weird event, called AT 2021hdr, that keeps recurring every few months,” said Lorena Hernández-García, an astrophysicist at […]
Posted November 13, 2024
People of Goddard
Goddard Space Flight Center
Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory
People of NASA
Through a nonlinear path to success, research astrophysicist Tyler Parsotan discovers transformational science using Swift’s observations.  Name: Tyler ParsotanFormal Job Classification: Research astrophysicistOrganization: Astroparticle Physics Laboratory (Code 661), Astrophysics Science Division, Sciences and Exploration Directorate  What do you
Posted August 20, 2024
Goddard Space Flight Center
Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory
On March 15, NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory entered into safe mode, temporarily suspending science operations due to degrading performance from one of its three gyroscopes (gyros), which are used to point the observatory for making observations. The rest of the spacecraft remains in good health.
Posted March 18, 2024
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