Chandra X-Ray Observatory At 25

Space.com

The Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched on July 23, 1999 aboard  Space Shuttle Columbia. See 25 'never-before-seen' images from the observatory to mark the anniversary.   Credit: NASA/CXC/A. Hobart

Transcript

00:00Visit Chandra's Beautiful Universe.

00:06Chandra's 25th Anniversary.

00:10To celebrate the 25th anniversary of its launch,

00:14NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is releasing 25

00:18never-before-seen views of a wide range of cosmic objects.

00:22These images, which all show data from Chandra,

00:26demonstrate how X-ray astronomy explores all corners of the universe.

00:30By combining X-rays from Chandra with other space-based observatories

00:34and telescopes on the ground, astronomers can tackle the biggest questions

00:38and investigate long-standing mysteries across the cosmos.

00:42On July 23, 1999,

00:46the space shuttle Columbia launched into orbit,

00:50carrying Chandra, which was then the heaviest payload ever carried by the shuttle.

00:54With Commander Eileen Collins at the helm,

00:58the astronomers aboard Columbia successfully deployed Chandra

01:02into its highly elliptical orbit that takes it nearly one-third of the distance to the Moon.

01:06X-rays are an especially penetrating type of light

01:10that reveals extremely hot objects and very energetic physical processes.

01:14Many fascinating regions in space glow strongly in X-rays,

01:18such as the debris from exploded stars

01:22and material swirling around black holes.

01:26Stars, galaxies, and even planets also give off X-rays that can be studied with Chandra.

01:30The new set of images is a sample of almost

01:3425,000 observations Chandra has taken during its quarter-century in space.

01:42In 1976, Riccardo Giacconi and Harvey Tannenbaum

01:46first proposed to NASA the mission that would one day become Chandra.

01:50Eventually, Chandra was selected to become one of NASA's

01:54great observatories, along with the Hubble Space Telescope,

01:58Compton Gamma-ray Observatory, and Spitzer Space Telescope,

02:02each looking at different types of light.

02:06Today, astronomers continue to use Chandra data in conjunction with other powerful telescopes,

02:10including the James Webb Space Telescope, Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer,

02:14and many more.

02:18Chandra has over 1,000 PhDs and has supported a diverse talent pool

02:22of more than 3,500 undergraduate and graduate students,

02:26about 1,700 postdocs, and over 5,000 unique principal investigators

02:30throughout the U.S. and worldwide.

02:34Demand for the telescope has consistently been extremely high throughout the entire mission,

02:38with only about 20% of the requested observing time able to be approved.

02:42Despite being in space for a quarter-century,

02:46Chandra is operating remarkably well and is still making discovery after discovery.

02:50Scientists are looking forward to using this exceptional telescope

02:54for years to come.

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