Chandra

Chandra X-ray Observatory

active Mission

The Telescope

Learn About Chandra's Instruments

Where Is Chandra?

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About Chandra

10 Facts About Chandra

Chandra detects X-ray emissions from very hot regions of the universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes.

Type

Space Telescope

Launch

July 23, 1999

Target

Universe

Objective

Detect X-ray emissions

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NASA/JPL-Caltech/VTAD

Chandra Stories

Explore All Chandra X-Ray Observatory Stories

Image Article

1 min read

Chandra and Webb Spy a Cosmic Wreath

Article

4 min read

NASA Finds ‘Sideways’ Black Hole Using Legacy Data, New Techniques

Clouds of purple, pink, blue, and white.

4 min read

NASA Open Science Reveals Sounds of Space

Article3 days ago

4 min read

NASA Missions Spot Cosmic ‘Wreath’ Displaying Stellar Circle of Life

Image Article

5 min read

Black Hole Jet Stumbles Into Something in the Dark

Image Article

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The image is divided horizontally by an undulating line between a cloudscape forming a nebula along the bottom portion and a comparatively clear upper portion. Speckled across both portions is a starfield, showing innumerable stars of many sizes. The smallest of these are small, distant, and faint points of light. The largest of these appear larger, closer, brighter, and more fully resolved with 8-point diffraction spikes. The upper portion of the image is blueish, and has wispy translucent cloud-like streaks rising from the nebula below. The orangish cloudy formation in the bottom half varies in density and ranges from translucent to opaque. The stars vary in color, the majority of which have a blue or orange hue. The cloud-like structure of the nebula contains ridges, peaks, and valleys – an appearance very similar to a mountain range. Three long diffraction spikes from the top right edge of the image suggest the presence of a large star just out of view.

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