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

00:11To celebrate the 25th anniversary of its launch,

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

00:1725 never-before-seen views of a wide range of cosmic objects.

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

00:25demonstrate 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.

00:45On July 23, 1999, the space shuttle Columbia launched into orbit,

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

00:55With Commander Eileen Collins at the helm,

00:58the astronomers aboard Columbia successfully deployed Chandra into its highly elliptical orbit

01:03that takes it nearly one-third of the distance to the Moon.

01:07X-rays are an especially penetrating type of light

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

01:15Many fascinating regions in space glow strongly in X-rays,

01:19such as the debris from exploded stars and material swirling around black holes.

01:24Stars, 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 25,000 observations

01:35Chandra has taken during its quarter century in space.

01:42In 1976, Riccardo Giacconi and Harvey Tannenbaum first proposed to NASA the mission that would one day become Chandra.

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

01:55along with the Hubble Space Telescope, Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, and Spitzer Space Telescope,

02:01each looking at different types of light.

02:04Today, astronomers continue to use Chandra data in conjunction with other powerful telescopes,

02:09including the James Webb Space Telescope, Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, and many more.

02:15Chandra science has led to over 700 PhDs and has supported a diverse talent pool

02:21of more than 3,500 undergraduate and graduate students, about 1,700 postdocs,

02:27and over 5,000 unique principal investigators throughout the U.S. and worldwide.

02:32Demand for the telescope has consistently been extremely high throughout the entire mission,

02:37with only about 20% of the requested observing time able to be approved.

02:42Despite being in space for a quarter century, Chandra is operating remarkably well

02:47and is still making discovery after discovery.

02:50Scientists are looking forward to using this exceptional telescope for years to come.

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