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                           Astronomy Picture of the Day   
      
       Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our   
         fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation   
                       written by a professional astronomer.   
      
                                 2021 December 22   
      
                          Launch of the IXPE Observatory   
                     Image Credit & Copyright: Jordan Sirokie   
      
      Explanation: Birds don't fly this high. Airplanes don't go this fast.   
      The Statue of Liberty weighs less. No species other than human can even   
      comprehend what is going on, nor could any human just a millennium ago.   
      The launch of a rocket bound for space is an event that inspires awe   
      and challenges description. Pictured here, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket   
      lifted off from Kennedy Space Center, Florida earlier this month   
      carrying the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). IXPE is   
      scheduled to observe high-energy objects such as neutron stars, black   
      holes, and the centers of distant galaxies to better determine the   
      physics and geometries that create and control them. From a standing   
      start, the 300,000+ kilogram rocket ship lifted IXPE up to circle the   
      Earth, where the outside air is too thin to breathe. Rockets bound for   
      space are now launched from somewhere on Earth every few days.   
      
                     Launch Update: James Webb Space Telescope   
                          Tomorrow's picture: open space   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.   
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                         A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC   
                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
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