Einstein Probe’s wide eyes capture Milky Way in X-ray light

The Einstein Probe spacecraft has released its first images, giving us a glimpse of what the innovative mission is capable of. The space X-ray telescope zoomed in on a few well-known celestial objects during this test observation.

Launched in January 2024, Einstein Probe is on a mission to discover the Universe in X-ray light. The mission is a collaboration led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) with the European Space Agency (ESA), The Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik (MPE), Germany, and Centre National D'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), France.

Using its powerful Wide-field X-ray Telescope (WXT), the spacecraft can capture the full night sky in three orbits around Earth. The mission's Follow-up X-ray Telescope (FXT) can subsequently zoom in on these objects and provide more detailed information.

Commenting on this milestone, Prof. Carole Mundell, ESA Director of Science, said, "I am delighted to see the first observations from Einstein Probe, which showcase the mission’s ability to study wide expanses of the X-ray sky and quickly discover new celestial sources. These early data give us a tantalising glimpse of the high-energy dynamic Universe that will soon be within reach of our science communities. Congratulations to the science and engineering teams at CAS, MPE, CNES and ESA for their hard work in reaching this important milestone."

The mission's first light images were presented at he 7th workshop of the Einstein Probe consortium in Beijing.

📢 Einstein Probe opens its wide eyes to the X-ray sky!With these first images, the space X-ray telescope zoomed in on a few well-known celestial objects to give us a hint of what the mission is capable of.Discover them here 👉 https://t.co/9CjJcok3En pic.twitter.com/Fr378ZeUxD

— ESA Science (@esascience) April 27, 2024

In the coming months, Einstein Probe will continue to undergo in-orbit calibration activities before starting its routine science observations around mid-June. During the three-year mission, the satellite will circle Earth at a height of 600 km and keep its eyes on the sky searching for transitory X-ray events. Using its Follow-up X-ray Telescope (FXT), the mission will look deeper at newly detected events and other known interesting objects.