Watch: On New Year's Day, Isro successfully launches satellite to study black holes

After successfully reaching the Moon in 2023, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) marked the beginning of 2024 with an impressive launch of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) on its 60th flight, carrying the XPoSat mission into space. 

The PSLV-C58 mission took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 9:10 am.

India's first X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) is exploring polarimetry, a technique to study bright astronomical X-ray sources in extreme conditions. Polarimetry involves measuring and analyzing the polarization of X-rays emitted by celestial objects in the universe.

When studying intense astronomical X-ray sources like neutron stars, black holes, or other high-energy phenomena, polarimetry allows scientists to gain extra insights beyond what traditional imaging or spectroscopy methods can offer.