NASA has sponsored a ton of investigations and studies to enable scientists and researchers to excel in many different fields concerning topics that are of scientific importance. Recently, a NASA-funded sounding rocket was able to solve a cosmic mystery and, at the same time, reveal another.
The presence of invisible light in space has long been established. And although they cannot be seen by the naked eyes, the infrared signals and cosmic microwave do exist. However, the source of some X-ray invisible light is still being contended.
But thanks to the DXL sounding rocket, the mystery -- or part of it -- was solved. The Diffuse X-Ray emissions from Local Galaxy (DXL) paved the way for scientists to provide concrete answers about the X-ray sources in the universe. A recent study using the DXL sounding rocket was published in the Astrophysical Journal and it confirmed some theories as to where X-rays originated. This new knowledge further strengthens mankind's understanding of the Solar System's neighborhood during the ancient times. Most X-rays come from solar wind or solar materials within the Solar System and Local Hot Bubble, which are potential hot interstellar ingredients found right outside the Solar System.
Aside from providing confirmations about the origins of some X-ray emissions from nearby galaxies, the DXL sounding rocket has also discovered a new mystery. Based on its reading, an entire classification of X-rays doesn't come from any known source.
"We show that the X-ray contribution from the solar wind charge exchange is about forty percent in the galactic plane, and even less elsewhere," Massimiliano Galeazzi, an astrophysicist at the University of Miami and an author on the study said in a press release. "So the rest of the X-rays must come from the Local Hot Bubble, proving that it exists."
Other high energy X-rays were also discovered that NASA said couldn't possibly come from the first two identified sources.
"At higher energies, these sources contribute less than a quarter of the X-ray emission," Youaraj Uprety, lead author on the study and an astrophysicist at the University of Miami said in a statement. "So there's an unknown source of X-rays in this energy range," Uprety added.
Although DXL had provided a confirmative knowledge about X-rays, it also started a new line of inquiry that is focused on finding out where these mysterious cosmic X-rays come from. Today, there are a lot of theories suggesting potential sources of these cosmic mysteries, but further studies had to be conductive before their origin can be identified.