HKU Astrophysicists Collaborates with NASA’s IXPE Telescope Untangles Theories Surrounding Historic Supernova Remnant

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 14 November 2023 – A team of international scientists, including Drs Stephen NG and Yi-Jung YANG from the Department of Physics at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), collaborated with NASA on research led by Nanjing University, utilising NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) telescope to capture the first polarised X-ray imagery of the supernova remnant SN 1006. The new results expand scientists’ understanding of the relationship between magnetic fields and the flow of high-energy particles from exploding stars. The discovery has been published in esteemed Scientific Journal The Astrophysical Journal.