“Astro H” is a satellite operated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). It was launched on February 17, 2016, and its mission is to study black holes and other astronomical objects using X-ray and gamma ray observations. The satellite has four scientific instruments on board: the Hard X-ray Imager (HXI), the Soft X-ray Imager (SXI), the Soft Gamma Ray Detector (SGD), and the Hard X-ray Telescope (HXT).
The HXI is a telescope that uses mirror imaging to focus hard X-rays onto an array of charge coupled devices (CCDs). The SXI is similar to the HXI, but it uses silicon wafers instead of mirrors to focus soft X-rays. The SGD is a set of four narrow field-of-view telescopes that are sensitive to gamma rays. Finally, the HXT is a large telescope with a wide field of view that can detect both hard X-rays and gamma rays.
All four instruments are used together to study astronomical objects such as active galactic nuclei, clusters of galaxies, supernova remnants, and pulsars. Astro H has already made several important discoveries, such as finding evidence for matter falling into a supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy.