At 23:42 UTC on September 6th, 2023, the X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) lifted off from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan, ushering in a new era of high-energy astrophysics. XRISM, an international JAXA/NASA collaboration including participation from ESA, is an advanced X-ray observatory capable of carrying out a science program that is addressing some of the most important questions in astrophysics. XRISM is essentially a rebuild of the Hitomi (Astro-H) spacecraft that was lost due to an operational mishap early in the mission in 2016. Resolve, the primary instrument on XRISM, is a high-resolution, non-dispersive X-ray spectrometer operating between 1.7-12 keV, providing high-resolution (~5 eV) spectroscopic capabilities in this critical energy band with a response peaking around the ubiquitous 6.4 keV Fe K-alpha line. A wide-field imager, Xtend, offers simultaneous coverage over nearly a 40’ square field of view, with ~1’ spatial resolution. Now in the General Observer (GO) phase, XRISM is studying all manner of astrophysical objects, including galaxies and clusters, AGN, X-ray binaries, supernova remnants, transient phenomena, stars, and the interstellar medium. In this talk, I will share some science highlights from the first 2.5 years of science operations, and will provide a general status update on the mission. I will discuss the synergies between high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy and observations at other wavelengths, including optical, radio, and IR, and summarize the General Observer program, where funding is available for observers based at U.S. institutions.

Speaker: Brian Williams (NASA)

The 2026 Fall Colloquium talks are held on Wednesdays at 3:00 PM. This colloquium is hosted by STScI and will be held as an in-person and virtual event.

You may join in person at STScI’s John N. Bahcall Auditorium or virtually on the STScI Research YouTube channel.

Please direct questions or comments to contact above. The 2026 Fall Colloquium Committee members are: Gagandeep Anand (STScI), Nimisha Kumari (STScI), Chris Nagele (JHU), Kevin Schlaufman (JHU), Greg Sloan (STScI), and Ethan Vishniac (JHU).