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Chandra's Silver Jubilee
HEAPOW | 2024 June 29

These images were released to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Chandra. They represent the wide range of objects that the telescope has observed over its quarter century of observations. X-rays are an especially penetrating type of light that reveals extremely hot objects and very energetic physical processes. The images range from supernova remnants, like Cassiopeia A, to star-formation regions like the Orion Nebula, to the region at the center of the Milky Way. This montage also contains objects beyond our own Galaxy including other galaxies and galaxy clusters.

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Twenty-five years ago, on July 23, 1999, the Space Shuttle Columbia carried aloft in its payload bay an extraordinary instrument, NASA's third "Great Observatory", the Chandra X-ray Observatory. After being released from Columbia, Chandra's Inertial Upper Stage propelled the observatory to its final orbit, a highly elliptical path taking it a third of the way to the moon. Chandra's complement of instruments include the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS), the High Resolution Camera (HRC), and the Low Energy and High Energy Tranmission Grating Spectrometers (LETGS and HETGS, respectively), but its real claim to fame is its exquisite X-ray mirror assembly, the finest ever flown. Chandra's mirrors and cameras are capable of distinguishing objects separated by only one-half arcsecond, which the equivalent to reading a stop sign at a distance of twelve miles (assuming the stop sign was emitting X-rays). No other X-ray observatory can match the high-resolution images that Chandra can obtain During the past 25 years, Chandra has observed every type of X-ray emitting object, from planets, normal stars, black holes, neutron stars and other compact objects, to galaxies and galaxy clusters, and has measured the hot wreckage from stellar explosions and galaxy collisions, and probed the mysterious dark matter which makes up much of the cosmos. The images above shows a collection of 25 new space images celebrating Chandra. [...] Astronomers hope to have access to Chandra's unique imaging and spectrometric capabilities for years to come.

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TY4YA Jac

AVAO wrote: ↑Sat Aug 24, 2024 5:44 am Chandra's Silver Jubilee
HEAPOW | 2024 June 29

Crab Nebula: This composite image features the remnant of a supernova explosion, which resembles a neon purple mushroom at the heart of a colorful web of veins and filaments. Known as the Crab Nebula, the heavily veined blue and red cloud of gas is set against the blackness of space. At the core of the nebula is a pulsar, a rotating neutron star emitting electromagnetic radiation. Here, the pulsar appears as a bright white dot sitting in a neon purple cloud. Surrounding the dot are white rings. These are created by particles driven away from the pulsar and colliding with gas in the nebula to produce X-rays. From this angle, the rings and purple cloud combine to resemble a mushroom cap. Completing the look of a mushroom is a thin mushroom stem emerging from the white dot. This is a narrow beam of particles blasting away from the pulsar.

Credit: X-ray: (Chandra) NASA/CXC/SAO, (IXPE) NASA/MSFC; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Schmidt, K. Arcand, and L. Frattare

Orion Nebula: In this composite image, a collection of neon pink and white stars gleam through a haze of wispy clouds. The young stars range in size from tiny specks to plump circles. Many have white cores and are surrounded by neon pink rings, identifying stars detected by Chandra. Some display long, ruler-straight diffraction spikes. Near the upper right of the image is a burst of red cloud that resembles a thick shock of hair. Both the red burst and the collection of stars are muted by hazy clouds, as if viewed through wafting smoke rising out of a campfire.

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/M. Mccaughrean, S. Pearson; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/K. Arcand and J. Major

The Eyes Galaxies (NGC 4438 & 4435): This composite image features a pair of merging galaxies, each resembling a brilliant white dot, earning the pair the nickname ‘The Eyes’. Near our lower left is the galaxy NGC 4438. This bright white dot is surrounded by a neon purple cloud of hot gas seen with Chandra. An inky black cloud nestled in a vertical strip of haze partially blocks our view of the neon purple, superheated gas. At our upper right is the second galaxy, NGC 4435. This bright white dot is surrounded by a thin, neon purple ring. The galaxy sits in the center of a glowing white streak, at the heart of a misty white pool. Flecks of white and neon purple speckle the image, set against the blackness of space.

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: ESO; Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Major

The Cat's Paw Nebula (NGC 6334): In this composite image of the Cat’s Paw nebula, brilliant red and purple clouds blanket a black sky packed with stars. Throughout this star-forming region of the Milky Way, distinct pockets of glowing, brick red clouds are linked by wisps of purple. A cluster of the brightest stars in the image are found in the heart of the nebula. Many are neon purple, with glowing white dots at their core, representing young stars observed by Chandra.

Credit: X-ray: NASA/SAO/CXC; Optical and H-alpha: ESO/MPG; Infrared: NASA/JPL-CalTech/Spitzer; Image Processing: J. Major

The Milky Way's Galactic Center: This composite image depicting the center of our Milky Way galaxy features a row of bright spots and translucent swirls, set against a backdrop of purple and red clouds and stars. The clouds show hot gas seen with Chandra. The translucent threads, which are mysterious sources of radio waves, create clusters, streaks, and ribbons. Several of these distinct shapes resemble smoke trails captured on film. While most of the distinct swirls and bright spots sit in an orderly row across the middle of the image, one very bright spot sits at our lower righthand corner. This is the area around Sagittarius C, a bright star forming region, which here resembles a golden white orb ringed with hints of green.

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/UMass/Q.D. Wang; Radio: NRF/SARAO/MeerKAT; Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk