Fireworks Mark Chandra X-Ray Telescope's 15th Birthday
NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory went into orbit 15 years ago, and to mark the occasion, scientists are showing off a fresh batch of X-ray fireworks.
Chinese astronomers and others around the world witnessed the creation of the Crab Nebula by a supernova explosion in the year 1054. This new image from Chandra shows a rapidly rotating neutron star, or pulsar, spewing out a blizzard of high-energy particles. Lower-energy X-rays are shown in red, medium energy in green, and high energy in blue.Chandra X-ray Observatory Center
To celebrate Chandra's deployment from the shuttle Columbia on July 23, 1999, the telescope team is releasing four new pictures of supernova remnants: the Crab Nebula, Tycho, G292.0+1.8 and 3C58. Chandra's X-ray vision is well-suited to reveal the hot spots in those celestial blast zones.
"Chandra changed the way we do astronomy," Paul Hertz, NASA's Astrophysics Division director, said in a news release on Tuesday. "We're fortunate we've had 15 years — so far — to use Chandra to advance our understanding of stars, galaxies, black holes, dark energy and the origin of the elements necessary for life."
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