) space observatory. The three identical X-ray telescopes onboard IXPE studied Tycho twice in 2022: From late June to early July, and from Dec. 21 to 25, according to the study.
Before IXPE data came in, Slane and his team were not sure what they would find, he added. To ultimately map the magnetic field geometry, the team was looking forHowever, such signals are sensitive to how tangled up the magnetic fields are: When turbulence in these fields is high, the radiation is less directional and less intense, meaning IXPE can't detect the polarization signals as strongly.
When IXPE data did come in, the team found that the magnetic fields are definitely messy — they have high turbulence,"but not so high that we couldn't detect the polarization," he added.