The Beautiful Universe: Chandra in HD: Recent Episodes
Kim Kowal Arcand
It's time to take a cosmic road trip using light as the highway and visit four stunning destinations across space. The vehicles for this space get-away are NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and James Webb Space Telescope.
A new study using NASA's Chandra and ESA's XMM-Newton reveals that the interiors of neutron stars may contain a type of ultra-dense matter not found anywhere else in the Universe.
A study with Chandra and XMM-Newton indicates which stars near our Sun could have habitable exoplanets around them based on whether they receive lethal radiation from the stars they orbit.
Westerlund 1 is the biggest and closest "super" star cluster to Earth. New data is helping astronomers delve deeper into this galactic factory where stars are vigorously being produced.
Astronomers studied 16 supermassive black holes that are firing powerful beams, or jets, into space. They found that about a third of these have changed directions by large amounts.
Eruptions from the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* may have created an exhaust vent attached to a "chimney" of hot gas blowing away from the center of our Milky Way galaxy.
New movies of two of the most famous objects in the sky — the Crab Nebula and Cassiopeia A — include X-ray data collected by Chandra over about two decades. They show dramatic changes in the remains of two massive stars in our galaxy.
A new project provides special 3D experiences on Instagram using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes through augmented reality (AR), allowing users to travel virtually through objects in space.
A brilliant supermassive black hole is not living up to expectations. Although responsible for high levels of radiation and powerful jets, this giant black hole is not as influential as many of its counterparts in other galaxies.
Three new sonifications of images from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have been released in conjunction with a new documentary about the project that makes its debut on the NASA+ streaming platform.
Astronomers have discovered one of the most powerful eruptions from a black hole ever recorded. This mega-explosion may help explain the formation of a striking pattern of star clusters around two massive galaxies, resembling "beads on a string."
The supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way is spinning so quickly it is warping the spacetime surrounding it into a shape that looks like an American football.
These four images represent a sample of galaxy clusters that are part of the largest and most complete study to learn what triggers stars to form in the universe's biggest galaxies.
For the first time scientists have combined the powers of NASA's Chandra & Webb Space Telescopes to study the famous supernova remnant Cassiopeia A, helping to solve the mystery behind the remnant's "Green Monster".
A group of dead stars known as "spider pulsars" are obliterating companion stars within their reach.
Astronomers found the most distant black hole ever detected in X-rays using the Chandra and Webb telescopes.
Chandra's data of MSH 15-52 have been combined with data from NASA's newest X-ray telescope, IXPE to unveil the magnetic field "bones" of this remarkable structure.
Using snapshots taken over 20 years with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have learned important new details about an eruption from Eta Carinae witnessed on Earth in the mid-19th century.
A new collection of stunning images highlights data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes.
Astronomers using NASA's Chandra, ESA's XMM-Newton, and other telescopes have determined that a giant black hole has destroyed a large star and strewn its contents into space.
Astronomers have discovered the most distant galaxy cluster with an important quality — providing insight into how these gigantic structures formed and why the universe looks like it does in the present day.
The NGC 4839 group of galaxies is plunging into the Coma galaxy cluster and leaving behind an extraordinary tail of superheated gas.
Four composite images deliver dazzling views from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and James Webb Space Telescope of two galaxies, a nebula, and a star cluster.
With a single letter seemingly etched in the X-ray glow around it, a giant black hole at the center of a massive elliptical galaxy is making a mark on its surroundings.
Astronomers have identified a new threat to life on planets like Earth: a phase during which intense X-rays from exploded stars can affect planets over 100 light-years away.
Data from Chandra show the effects of powerful winds launched from the center of a nearby galaxy.
A distant – and lonely – galaxy appears to have pulled in and assimilated all of its former companion galaxies.
A new study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has tracked two pairs of supermassive black holes in dwarf galaxies on collision courses.
Astronomers have captured a spectacular, ongoing collision between at least three galaxy clusters. Data from Chandra, XMM-Newton, and a trio of radio telescopes are helping astronomers sort out what is happening in this jumbled scene.
A new survey using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has uncovered hundreds of previously "hidden" black holes.
A new study provides insight into how X-rays from stars like our Sun, but billions of years younger, could partially or completely evaporate the atmospheres of planets orbiting them.
A study of RCW 36 shows that stars in a cluster can limit how many new stars form when the biggest and brightest members expel most of the gas from the system, thus drastically slowing down star birth.
Planets can force their host stars to act younger than their age, according to a new study of multiple systems using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.
A new result from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory about a system of colliding galaxy clusters may help explain this shortfall.
New versions of images combining Webb infrared data with X-rays collected by Chandra underscore how the power of any of these telescopes is only enhanced when joined with others.
It is often difficult to determine the timeline of the star's demise. By studying the spectacular remains of a supernova using NASA telescopes, a team has found enough clues to help wind back the clock.
Astronomers may have witnessed a smaller galaxy colliding with a larger spiral galaxy and delivering a supermassive black hole.
Zeta Ophiuchi is a star with a complicated past, having likely been ejected from its birthplace by a powerful stellar explosion. A new look by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory helps tell more of the story of this runaway star.
Astronomers used NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory to determine the spin of the black hole in H1821+643, making it the most massive one to have an accurate measurement of this fundamental property.
A young pulsar is blazing through the Milky Way at a speed of over a million miles per hour. This stellar speedster is one of the fastest objects of its kind ever seen.
A new study shows a deep connection between some of the largest, most energetic events in the Universe and much smaller, weaker ones powered by our own Sun.
As the Event Horizon Telescope was collecting data for its remarkable new image of the Milky Way's supermassive black hole, a legion of other telescopes, including Chandra, was also watching.
A new survey of over 100 galaxies by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has uncovered signs that black holes are demolishing thousands of stars in a quest to pack on weight.
Data from Chandra reveal feasting and growing black holes throughout the cosmic web that surrounds a central galaxy.
A city-sized collapsed star has generated a beam of matter and antimatter that stretches for trillions of miles.
A city-sized collapsed star has generated a beam of matter and antimatter that stretches for trillions of miles.
A new gallery of images combining X-ray data from Chandra with those from other telescopes.
A new astronomical visualization from NASA's Universe of Learning showcases the multiwavelength emissions and 3D structures surrounding Eta Carinae, one of the most massive and eruptive stars in our galaxy.
Chandra has detected X-rays from the dwarf galaxy Mrk 462, revealing the presence of a growing supermassive black hole.
Scientists have found four enormous cavities, or bubbles, at the center of a galaxy cluster using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.
A new collection of planetary nebulas containing X-rays from Chandra and optical light from Hubble.
New data suggest a white dwarf is blasting a companion object, either a low-mass star or planet, with waves of heat and radiation while pulling it apart through gravitational force.
Astronomers have found evidence for a possible planet candidate in the M51 ("Whirlpool") galaxy, representing what could be the first planet detected outside of the Milky Way.
Studies of the elements left behind by explosions like this are some of the best tools available to scientists to better understand the details of Type Ia supernovas.
A "sonification" project led by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Universe of Learning transforms otherwise inaudible data from some of the world's most powerful telescopes into sound.
A spectacular set of rings around a black hole has been captured using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.
Galaxy clusters are the titans of the Universe. A new study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory examines the repercussions after two galaxy clusters clashed.
Motions of a remarkable cosmic structure have been measured for the first time, using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.
The largest survey ever of star-forming regions in X-rays outlines the link between very powerful flares and the impact they could have on planets in orbit around them.
A new panorama from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the MeerKAT radio telescope provides a stunning view of the center of our Milky Way galaxy.
A collection of 3D computer models and prints is now available on a new platform from the Smithsonian Institution. This will provide greater access to these resources for libraries, museums, scientists, and the public.
Astronomers have discovered an important type of titanium blasting out from the center of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A, a result that could be a major advance in understanding how some massive stars explode.
In April 2019, scientists released the first image of a black hole in the galaxy M87 using the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). However, that remarkable achievement was just the beginning of the science story to be told.
Astronomers have detected X-rays from Uranus for the first time, using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.
As part of our ongoing data sonification series, three new images have now been released.
Astronomers may have found the most distant supermassive black hole with a jet detected in X-rays using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Astronomers have found evidence for the existence of a neutron star at the center of Supernova 1987A (SN 1987A), which scientists have been seeking for over three decades.
Astronomers have found evidence for an unusual type of supernova near the center of the Milky Way galaxy.
When three galaxies collide, what happens to the central black holes growing at the cores of each?
In 2020, astronomers added a new member to an exclusive family of exotic stars, with the discovery of a magnetar.
Despite searching with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have no evidence that a distant black hole estimated to weigh billions of times the mass of the Sun is anywhere to be found.
A new trio of examples of 'data sonification' from NASA missions provides a new method to enjoy an arrangement of cosmic objects.
Astronomers using Chandra have found a bubble of ultra-hot gas at the center of a planetary nebula in our galaxy called IC 4593.
A new study using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope gives new insight into an important question: how habitable are planets that orbit the most common type of stars in the Galaxy?
What do Albert Einstein, the Global Positioning System (GPS), and a pair of stars 200,000 trillion miles from Earth have in common?
Scientists have studied more than 700 quasars -- rapidly growing supermassive black holes -- to isolate the factors that determine why some of these black holes launch jets and others do not.
By turning Chandra, Hubble, and Spitzer images into sounds, a new project allows users to 'listen' to the center of the Milky Way and other objects.
Humanity has "eyes" that can detect all different types of light through telescopes around the globe and a fleet of observatories in space. From radio waves to gamma rays, this multiwavelength approach to astronomy is crucial to getting a complete understanding of objects in space.
A new sequence of Chandra images, taken over nearly a decade and a half, captures motion in Kepler's supernova remnant.
Astronomers have discovered what can happen when a giant black hole does not intervene in the life of a galaxy cluster.
Astronomers have discovered one type of growing supermassive black hole masquerading as another.
By detecting an X-ray flare from a very young star using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, researchers have reset the timeline for when stars like the Sun start blasting high-energy radiation into space.
By combining data from telescopes with supercomputer simulations and virtual reality (or "VR"), a new visualization allows you to experience 500 years of cosmic evolution around the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way.
Astronomers have caught a black hole hurling hot material into space at close to the speed of light.
Several hundred million years ago, two galaxy clusters collided and then passed through each other. This mighty event released a flood of hot gas from each galaxy cluster that formed an unusual bridge between the two objects.
Astronomers may have discovered a new kind of survival story: a star that had a brush with a giant black hole and lived to tell the tale through exclamations of X-rays.
One of the fundamental ideas of cosmology is that everything looks the same in all directions if you look over large enough distances. A new study using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA's XMM-Newton is challenging that basic notion.
Astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have made one of the first experimental tests of string theory, a set of models intended to tie together all known forces, particles, and interactions.
Astronomers have discovered the biggest explosion seen in the Universe in a galaxy cluster 390 million light years away.
Astronomers have spotted a double star system is flip-flopping between two alter egos using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes.
These six visualizations represent work to explore rich datasets from powerful telescopes, like Chandra, by developing three-dimensional simulations.
Astronomers have shown that the famous black hole in Messier 87 is propelling particles faster than 99% of the speed of light using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Astronomers and visualization specialists from NASA's Universe of Learning program have combined X-ray, visible, and infrared wavelengths to create a 3D representation of the dynamic Crab Nebula.
Two groups of galaxies located about 380 million light years from Earth are slamming into each other at about 4 million miles per hour.
Astronomers have uncovered a black hole that may have sparked the birth of stars over a phenomenal distance of more than a million light years and across multiple galaxies.
Scientists have found stars forming at a furious rate in the Phoenix galaxy cluster. The supermassive black hole in the center of galaxy clusters usually stifles star formation, but the one in Phoenix is not.
When two pairs of galaxy clusters collide, the result is not four separate objects, but one giant galaxy cluster.
A study using data from Chandra and other telescopes provides the strongest evidence yet for three supermassive black holes on a collision course.
Astronomers found X-ray bursts repeating about every nine hours coming from the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy GSN 069.
Over its two decades in space, Chandra X-ray Observatory has captured many spectacular images of cosmic phenomena. But perhaps its most iconic is the supernova remnant called Cassiopeia A.
Found at a time only about 850 million years after the Big Bang, this black hole could help us better understand an important epoch in the history of the Universe.
A scientific and engineering marvel, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has spent two decades (so far) exploring the cosmos unlike any other telescope. What it has found will astound you.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, an assembly of new images has been released.
Astronomers have deployed a new technique to measure the spin of five supermassive black holes.
Does the Gas in Galaxy Clusters Flow Like Honey? Researchers used a deep Chandra dataset to study how the hot gas in the cluster behaves.
A galaxy that has been isolated for billions of years has been found to have more dark matter in its core than expected.
Scientists have found evidence that pairs of stars have been kicked out of their host galaxies.
A bright blast of X-rays from a source in a distant galaxy has led astronomers to a fascinating discovery.
A new visualization provides viewers with an immersive, 360-degree, ultra-high-definition view of the center of our Galaxy.
Fancy a cup of cosmic tea? This one isn't as calming as the ones on Earth. In a galaxy hosting a structure nicknamed the "Teacup," a galactic storm is raging.
The galaxy NGC 3079, located about 67 million light years from Earth, contains two /"superbubbles/" unlike anything here on our planet.
Astronomers have used Chandra to possibly identify the location of a third of the normal matter in the Universe created in the first billion years or so after the Big Bang.
Dark energy, a proposed force or energy that permeates all space and accelerates the Universe's expansion, may vary over time.
A ricocheting jet blasting from a giant black hole has been captured by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Hidden in a distant galaxy cluster collision are wisps of gas resembling the starship Enterprise, an iconic spaceship from the "Star Trek" franchise.
Scientists have confirmed the identity of the youngest known pulsar in the Milky Way galaxy. This result could provide astronomers new information about how some stars end their lives.
A distant cosmic relative to the first source that astronomers detected in both gravitational waves and light may have been discovered.
Astronomers have used data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory to make heads and tails of a fascinating galactic system.
Astronomers have used NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory to discover a ring of black holes or neutron stars in a galaxy 300 million light years from Earth.
These Chandra data have provided strong evidence for the existence of so-called intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs).
Chandra data indicates that a young star has likely destroyed and consumed an infant planet.
Astronomers using Chandra found that black holes may have squelched star formation in small, yet massive galaxies known as "red nuggets".
A new study of Alpha Centauri indicates that any planets orbiting the two brightest stars are likely not being pummeled by large amounts of X-ray radiation from their host stars.
A new study using Chandra data of GW170817 indicates that the event that produced gravitational waves likely created the lowest mass black hole known.
Astronomers have discovered a special kind of neutron star for the first time outside of the Milky Way galaxy.
Astronomers have discovered evidence for thousands of black holes located near the center of our Milky Way galaxy.
By studying young clusters, astronomers hope to learn more about how stars-- including our Sun--are born
A gigantic and resilient "cold front" hurtling through the Perseus galaxy cluster has been studied using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.
A new composite image of the Crab Nebula features X-rays from Chandra, optical data from Hubble, and infrared data from Spitzer.
Two groups of scientists, using data from Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes, have found evidence that the growth of the biggest black holes in the Universe is outrunning the rate of formation of stars in the galaxies they inhabit.
The dining galaxy is known by its abbreviated name, J1354, and is about 800 million light years from Earth.
A new visualization provides an exceptional virtual trip - complete with a 360-degree view - to the center of our home galaxy, the Milky Way.
An innovative interpretation of X-ray data from a galaxy cluster could help scientists understand the nature of dark matter.
Where do most of the elements essential for life on Earth come from? The answer: inside the furnaces of stars and the explosions that mark the end of some stars lives.
An intriguing source has been discovered in the nearby Andromeda galaxy using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and ground-based optical telescopes.
A new study using Chandra and XMM-Newton data reveals that the auroras at Jupiter's poles behave independently.
Astronomers have used NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory to make the first X-ray detection of a gravitational wave source.
Astronomers have found evidence for five dual supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies, each containing millions of times the mass of the Sun.
For decades, astronomers have known about irregular outbursts from the double star system V745 Sco, which is located about 25,000 light years from Earth.
X-rays emitted by a planet's host star may provide critical clues to just how hospitable a star system could be.
Because of its relative proximity, the giant molecular cloud W51 provides astronomers with an excellent opportunity to study how stars are forming in our Milky Way galaxy.
What would happen if you took two galaxies and mixed them together over millions of years?
In biology, "symbiosis" refers to two organisms that live close to and interact with one another. Astronomers have long studied a class of stars-- called symbiotic stars--that co-exist in a similar way.
Astronomers have determined the Big Bang occurred about 13.8 billion years ago and have evidence from the SDSS that supermassive black holes with masses of about a billion times that of the sun existed by about 12.8 billion years ago.
Giant black holes are generally stationary objects, sitting at the centers of most galaxies. However, using data from NASAs Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes, astronomers recently hunted down a supermassive black hole that may be on the move.
The Centaurus Cluster is a collection of hundreds of galaxies located about 145 million light years from Earth.
Scientists have discovered a mysterious flash of X-rays using Chandra X-ray Observatory, in the deepest X-ray image ever obtained.
In astronomy, a binary system is one where two objects are close enough that they orbit each other because they are gravitationally bound to one another.
Thirty years ago on February 24, 1987, observers in the southern hemisphere noticed a new object in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
Every so often, an object will pass too close to a black hole and be ripped apart by its intense gravitational forces.
What happens when astronomers use Chandra to take a long look at the same patch of sky?
There are many extraordinary things in the Universe. For example, astronomers have found many examples of supermassive black holes erupting in powerful outbursts that can stretch for millions of miles.
Although there are no seasons in space, this cosmic vista invokes thoughts of a frosty winter landscape.
Astronomers have used Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes to show that a very distant galaxy is undergoing an extraordinary boom of stellar construction.
Astronomers have found a pair of extraordinary objects that dramatically burst in X-rays. This discovery, made using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA's XMM-Newton observatory, may represent a new class of explosive events.
Each year, Chandra X-ray Observatory helps celebrate American Archive Month by releasing a collection of images using X-ray data that have been stored in its archive.
The Sun can create powerful storms capable of knocking out communication satellites and damaging electrical power systems on Earth.
First discovered in observations from Chandra and XMM-Newton over a decade ago, this object has some interesting properties.
During the summer of 2015, scientists and the public alike were treated to a flood of images and discoveries about Pluto as the New Horizon spacecraft made an unprecedented flyby of the dwarf planet.
When stars have more than about 8 times as much mass as the Sun, they end their lives in a spectacular explosion called a supernova.
Galaxy clusters are incredibly important objects in the Universe since they are the largest objects in the Universe held together by gravity.
In science, pressure is defined as the amount of force over a given area. This means you can have the same amount of force over two different areas and end up with different results.
The range of mass in our everyday lives and what we can appreciate in sporting events like the Olympics is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg - especially once we allow our minds to consider the wonders of space
Time and our ability to measure it accurately is also key for many frontiers of science, including astrophysics.
While they may sound like very different and distinct fields, astronomy and history can intersect in very interesting and important ways.
Despite how large some Olympic distances may seem, they are just a tiny fraction of the lengths we see across space.
By converting speeds from common experiences into meters per second, we can use this as a reference point for exploring the enormous range of speeds around the world and across the Universe.
In the Olympic Games, athletes often need to rotate in order to compete in their sports. We also find things in space that rotate.
One of the most exciting developments in astronomy in the last couple of decades has been the discovery and study of planets around stars other than our Sun.
The AstrOlympics project explores the spectacular range of science that we can find both in the impressive feats of the Olympic Games as well as in cosmic phenomena throughout the Universe.
The new results suggest that at least some of the supermassive black holes in the early Universe formed through this direct collapse method.
In modern times, astronomers have observed the debris field from this explosion - what is now known as Tycho's supernova remnant - with many telescopes including the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
A new study tries to tackle the questions surrounding dark energy by examining properties of X-ray emission from galaxy clusters.
Recently, astronomers have performed such a study using observations with Chandra of two comets, named ISON and PanSTARRS.
A little more than a century ago, as seen from the Earth, a star exploded near the center of the Milky Way galaxy.
A new study using data from Chandra X-ray Observatory has shown that storms from the Sun are triggering auroras in X-ray light.
Two of these Frontier Fields galaxy clusters, going by their abbreviated names, are MACS J0416 and MACS J0717.
Astronomers have used Chandra X-ray Observatory to discover a jet from a very distant supermassive black hole being illuminated by the oldest light in the Universe.
New X-ray data from Chandra confirmed that IDCS J1426 was indeed enormous, weighing in at a whopping 500 trillion times the mass of our Sun.
Astronomers using Chandra X-ray Observatory have discovered evidence for powerful blasts produced by a giant black hole.
Bubbles represent important physical phenomena that can be found across many scales and in many different types of objects.
An extraordinary ribbon of hot gas trailing behind a galaxy like a tail has been discovered using data from Chandra X-ray Observatory.
The Jellyfish Nebula, lying about 5,000 light years from Earth, is the remnant of a supernova that occurred over 10,000 years ago.
One hundred years ago this month, Albert Einstein published his theory of general relativity, one of the most important scientific achievements in the last century.
Modern astronomers know that Delta Orionis is not simply one single star, but rather it is a complex multiple star system.
Astronomers have recently discovered evidence that a planet may have been destroyed in our very own Galaxy.
When something, like a star or a planet, wanders too close to a black hole, it is usually not good news for that object.
One of the most interesting characteristics of light is that the path that it travels can bend.
Chandra X-ray Observatory has collected data for over sixteen years on thousands of different objects throughout the Universe.
This galaxy cluster, which was found about 5.7 billion light years from Earth, shattered several important astronomical records.
At the heart of the Milky Way galaxy, there is a supermassive black hole that has the mass equivalent of some four million Suns.
Light comes in different forms. The light that we see with our eyes is just a fraction of all light.
We rely on light - both natural and artificial - to brighten and power our world, but also for so much more.
Understanding how clusters grow is critical to tracking how the Universe itself evolves over time.
Oxymorons are often thought of as gaffes in language, but a new black hole discovery shows they can also represent important scientific advances.
Last time, we looked at the electromagnetic spectrum. This time we'll look at how astronomical images are made.
An astronomer's toolkit consists of many kinds of light, across the electromagnetic spectrum.
A fast-moving pulsar appears to have punched a hole in a disk of gas around its companion star and launched a fragment of the disk outward at a speed of about 4 million miles per hour.
While fireworks only last a short time here on Earth, a bundle of cosmic sparklers in a nearby cluster of stars will be going off for a very long time.
Galaxy groups are families of galaxies that are bound together by gravity. They are very similar to their larger cousins, galaxy clusters.
While scientists and philosophers have tried to figure out exactly what light is for millennia, it's only been in the past several hundred years or so that we've really started to figure it out.
These rings are light echoes, similar to sound echoes that we may experience here on Earth.
The year 2015 has been declared to be the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies by the United Nations.
Since space-time foam, as it is called, is so tiny, scientists cannot observe it directly.
Chandra does not look at light that we can see with our eyes. It detects x-rays from the Universe.
A new study reveals that the X-ray output from SGR 1745-2900 is dropping more slowly than for other magnetars, and its surface is hotter than expected.
A group of unusual giant black holes may be consuming excessive amounts of matter, according to a new study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.
My mom works for NASA, for a telescope that studies X-rays from space. She told me about how the telescope, called Chandra, was launched into space aboard the Space Shuttle.
Chandra's excellent X-ray vision enabled the astronomers to determine that the X-rays from NGC 6388 were not coming from a black hole at the center of the cluster.
In space, explosions of actual stars are a focus for scientists who hope to better understand the lifecycle of their births, lives, and deaths.
On Earth, precipitation happens when water is heated by the Sun and forms steam. Sometimes, something similar happens in galaxies.
Researchers used Chandra to look at some of the largest known galaxies lying in the middle of galaxy clusters.
Astronomers found that this intermediate-mass black hole is producing a jet that appears to be squelching the formation of stars around it.
Supermassive black holes are famous for their ability to swallow anything - even light.
Astronomers think magnetars may be created when some massive stars die in a supernova explosion.
This new Chandra image of G299 shows a beautiful and intricate structure in the expanding remains of the shattered star.
To recognize the start of IYL, the Chandra X-ray Center is releasing a collection of images that combine data from telescopes tuned to different wavelengths of light.
We would like to step through our new tutorial on creating a multiwavelength composite image of M101 using GIMP.
Over the years, astronomers have learned many things about Sagittarius A* and it continues to surprise and intrigue scientists to this day.
This galaxy cluster is officially known as XDCP J0044.0-2033. Perhaps not surprisingly, astronomers decided to give a nickname to this mouthful of a cluster name.
Working with NASA and other data from exploded stars, to star-forming regions, to the area around black holes, students learn basic coding (for beginners - no experience required) and follow a video tutorial to create a real world application of science, technology and even art.
The shock wave from the supernova is absorbed by the star's outer shells of gas and dust, which escaped from the star before the explosion.
Celebrating 15 years of science with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory: Chandra allows scientists from around the world to obtain X-ray images of exotic environments to help understand the structure and evolution of the universe.
One of the biggest mysteries in astrophysics today is figuring out where mysterious particles called neutrinos come from.
Astronomers already know that the black hole at the centre of a collection of galaxies called the Perseus Cluster is powerful enough to make a very deep sound.
Now researchers have direct evidence for just how that energy keeps the gas in the entire galaxy cluster so hot.
Every year, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory looks at hundreds of objects throughout space to help expand our understanding of the Universe.
Ultraluminous X-ray Sources, or ULXs, are unusual objects. They are rare and, as their name implies, give off enormous amounts of X-rays.
A new study using data from Chandra X-ray Observatory has shown that a planet is making the star that it orbits act much older than it actually is.
The destructive results of a powerful supernova explosion are seen in a delicate tapestry of X-ray light in this new image.
Astronomers using Chandra X-ray Observatory have set out on a hunt, to look at as many planetary nebulae as they can.
New Chandra data are helping astronomers better understand how the two stars in Eta Carinae interact with one another through powerful winds blowing off their surfaces.
A new study of an X-ray binary called Circinus X-1 found that it is less than 4,600 years old.
This picture shows the aftermath of a collision between two huge groups of galaxies, which are called galaxy clusters.
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of Chandra X-ray Observatory, we have released four new images of supernova remnants.
Each of these four fabulous photographs shows the remains of an exploded star - called a supernova remnant.
In fifteen years of operation, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has given us a view of the universe that is largely hidden from telescopes sensitive only to visible light.
NGC 4258, also known as Messier 106, is a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way. This galaxy is famous, however, for something that our Galaxy doesn't have - two extra spiral arms that glow in X-ray, optical, and radio light.
A team of astronomers has used Chandra X-ray Observatory and XMM-Newton to study a large group of galaxy clusters with a surprising result.
Like the Milky Way, the Whirlpool is a spiral galaxy with spectacular arms of stars and dust.
The galaxy is called ESO 137-001 and in reality it is hidden from our view by a thick fog of space dust.
The Universe is vast and largely made up of empty space, but cosmic collisions still happen pretty often.
A new study of NGC 2024 and the Orion Nebula Cluster show stars on the outskirts of these clusters are older than those in the middle.
Four images of galaxies that have been made using data from both amateur and professional telescopes.
This is a gas bubble inside a previously blown bubble, or nebula, like you can see in this image.
When astronomers want to study young stars, this cluster - called Cygnus OB2 - is one of the first places they look.
This space photograph shows a supernova remnant that is sweeping up a remarkable amount of material.
Astronomers have directly measured the spin of a supermassive black hole in a quasar that is located 6 billion light years away.
Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is more than just a giant barred spiral containing hundreds of billions of stars.
Most stars are like long-distance marathon runners, as they are constantly moving in space throughout their lifetimes.
This object is a pulsar, the spinning dense core that remains after a massive star has exploded and collapsed.
Astronomers had to combine observations made with two space telescopes to create this photo.
This galaxy, at a distance of about 12 million light years from Earth, contains a gargantuan jet blasting away from a central supermassive black hole.
Light from the nearest star outside our solar system has to travel through empty black space for 4.2 years before it reaches our eyes.
Magnetars are some of the most extreme objects known in the Universe. These stars were given their name because they are very strong magnets.
In the middle of the twentieth century, an unusual star was spotted in the constellation of Canes Venatici.
The Chandra images included in this brief 2013 retrospective are drawn from dozens of images.
It seems that there is a twist in nature: the more beautiful something is, the more deadly it also might be.
Neutron stars are the ultra-dense cores left behind after a massive star reaches the end of its life and explodes.
Jets of high-energy particles are found throughout the Universe on large and small scales.
One of the most famous objects in the sky - the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant - is now on display like never before.
In this picture, a galactic collision is taking place between the grand spiral galaxy and the tiny dwarf galaxy that you can see to its left.
The Chandra Data Archive plays a central role in the mission by enabling the astronomical community access to data collected by the observatory.
This spooky new image shows a massive star in its afterlife. You could say it's a 'ghost star'.
This object was first spotted in 1757, but today we are still discovering new details about it.
It took some pretty impressive technology to get these pictures, which wasn't available to our ancient ancestors.
Pictures of space are often gorgeous. But one of the most exciting things about them is that, very often, they show us things that are invisible to the human eye.
Scientists have long known that the giant black hole at the center of the Milky Way is a particularly poor eater.
The hot gas cloud is likely caused by a collision between a dwarf galaxy and a much larger galaxy called NGC 1232.
Astronomers estimate that a star explodes as a supernova in our Galaxy, on average, about twice per century.
Many consider Andromeda, also known as Messier 31, to be a sister galaxy to our own Milky Way.
While most of us use electricity every day without thinking about it, maybe take a moment to look around.
Astronomers think that just about every galaxy contains a giant, or supermassive, black hole at their center.
Most of us have heard the story of the tortoise and the hare. The tortoise is slow and the hare is fast. But what exactly does this mean?
Two large galaxies are colliding and scientists have used Chandra to make a detailed study of an enormous cloud of hot gas that surrounds them.
Shadows occur on other planets as well. One excellent place to look for shadows in our Solar System is the planet Jupiter.
Bow waves are not just found in duck ponds. Rather they can be anywhere in water, air, or even space where an object is moving quickly enough.
The Small Magellanic Cloud - also known as the SMC - is one of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way.
Our Sun is a star. In fact, it is the closest star we'll ever see. The Sun is about 5 billion years old and will live for about 5 billion more. But not all stars live this long.
Over 400 years ago, Johannes Kepler and many others witnessed the appearance of a new "star" in the sky.
In 1604, a new star appeared in the night sky. It shone brighter than all the other stars, and for three weeks, it was even visible during the day!
Neutron stars are the ultra-dense cores that are often left behind after massive stars run out of fuel and collapse.
Stars appear to be permanent fixtures of the night sky. However, stars are like people. They are born, live a lifetime, and ultimately die.
The supernova remnant known as W49B is, let's say, a bit unorthodox looking. Many supernova remnants appear rather spherical in shape.
One star, eight planets, and a myriad of moons, comets and asteroids. This is the Earth's local neighborhood, known as the Solar System.
While astronomers know that Cassiopeia A, or Cas A for short, is the aftermath of a massive star that exploded, it is unclear exactly when the explosion took place.
DEM L50 is what astronomers call a superbubble. These objects are found in regions where massive stars have formed, raced through their evolution, and exploded as supernovas.
The Chandra images included in this short 2012 retrospective are drawn from dozens of images posted on our website (from among hundreds taken) in the past year to show the breadth and depth of research done using Chandra.
Unlike with some Hollywood films, a sequel of a movie from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is better than the first.
Supernovas are some of the most dramatic events in the cosmos. These titanic events send shockwaves rumbling through space and create giant bubbles of gas that have been superheated to millions of degrees.
If a star has three times or more the mass of the sun and collapses, it can form a black hole.
There are many things around us that bend. Straws bend. Rivers bend. But did you know that light also bends?
Some of the biggest black holes in the Universe may actually be even bigger than previously thought.
The spiral galaxy NGC 3627 is located about 30 million light years from Earth. Astronomers recently completed a survey of galaxies to look for supermassive black holes.
By comparing NGC 922 to galaxies with different mixtures of elements, astronomers hope to master the ideal recipe for what it takes to make these large black holes.
The most distant jet in X-ray light has been discovered using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.
A planetary nebula is a phase of stellar evolution that the sun should experience several billion years from now, when it expands to become a red giant.
The Milky Way and other galaxies in the universe are home to many star clusters and associations that each contain hundreds to thousands of hot, massive, young stars.
Looking at a hurricane from this point of view, we can see that the storm is, in fact, a giant spiral shape.
The word galaxy comes from the Greek word meaning "milky circle" or the more familiar Milky Way.
A supermassive black hole with one of the lowest masses ever observed has been spotted in the middle of a galaxy, using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and several other observatories.
A planetary nebula is a phase of stellar evolution that the sun should experience several billion years from now, when it expands to become a red giant.
This image of Kepler's supernova remnant shows the expanding ball of debris from a supernova explosion in our galaxy.
The star cluster known as NGC 1929 is embedded in a cloud of gas and dust, which astronomers call the N44 nebula.
Astronomers have found an extraordinary galaxy cluster -- one of the largest objects in the Universe -- that is breaking several important cosmic records.
Over fifty years ago, a supernova was discovered in M83, a spiral galaxy about 15 million light years from Earth.
A pulsar found racing away from a supernova remnant about 30,000 light years from Earth.
At the center of a galaxy some 4 billion light years from Earth, something extraordinary is happening. This galaxy, known as CID-42, contains a giant black hole.
Why are some supernovas much more powerful than others? Astronomers are still trying to figure that out, but one new discovery may help answer the question.
Since the 1980s, astronomers have known about a mysterious class of objects that they call "ultraluminous X-ray sources," or ULXs.
Using a combination of powerful observatories in space and on the ground, astronomers have discovered a violent collision between two galaxy clusters.
When we look up on a dark night, we see a sky filled with stars. The light from a star, like the light from a flashlight or a lightning bug, is one form of electromagnetic radiation.
Over three hundred years ago, a very large star ran out of fuel and collapsed. This event created an explosion, known as a supernova, which then produced an expanding field of debris.
A galaxy cluster containing a structure never previously seen so far from Earth has been observed by Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Dark matter is mysterious. We know that it is invisible material that does not emit or absorb any type of light, but we can detect it through the gravitational effects it has on material we can see.
Over several years, astronomers have noticed flares in X-ray light from the black hole at the center of the Milky Way.
G350.1+0.3 is a young and exceptionally bright supernova remnant located nearly 15,000 light years from Earth toward the center of the Milky Way.
Researchers have been traveling for decades to some of the coldest places on the planet to uncover some of the secrets from space that have been left behind on Earth.
Astronomers using the Chandra X-ray Observatory and ground-based optical telescopes have discovered an extraordinary galaxy cluster some 7.2 billion light years from Earth.
The Milky Way galaxy has several small satellite galaxies very close to it. One of them is called the Small Magellanic Cloud.
The galaxy cluster Abell 2052 is found some 480 million light years from Earth. At the center of Abell 2052 is a giant elliptical galaxy, and within that is a supermassive black hole.
30 Doradus is a place where stars are born literally. This region, which is also known as the Tarantula Nebula, is located about 160,000 light years from Earth.
Over three decades ago, Stephen Hawking placed, and eventually lost, a bet against the existence of a black hole in Cygnus X-1.
In 185 A.D., Chinese astronomers noted a "guest star" that mysteriously appeared in the sky and stayed for about 8 months.
Astronomers have recently completed a large survey of the sky using some of the powerful telescopes both on the ground and in space.
G299.2-2.9 is an intriguing supernova remnant found about 16,000 light years away in the Milky Way galaxy.
High-mass stars are important because they are responsible for much of the energy pumped into a galaxy over its lifetime.
In recent years, astronomers have found hundreds of planets orbiting stars other than our Sun.
Astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have discovered the first pair of supermassive black holes in a spiral galaxy similar to the Milky Way.
VV 340, also known as Arp 302, is a textbook example of colliding galaxies seen in the very early stages of their interaction.
This is NGC 3115, a galaxy located about 32 million light years from Earth. This composite image contains X-rays from Chandra as well as optical data from the Very Large Telescope.
A spinning neutron star is tied to a mysterious tail, or is it? Astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have found a long, X-ray bright tail streaming away from the pulsar known as PSR J0357.
One of the most complicated and dramatic collisions ever seen between galaxy clusters is captured in this new composite image.
This image is what is known as the Chandra Deep Field South, a 4-million-second exposure made by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Located in the Sagittarius-Carina arm of the Milky Way a mere 7,500 light years from Earth, the Carina Nebula is one of the best places to study how massive stars live and die.
New research using Chandra data of the Tycho supernova remnant provides astronomers with clues to what triggered the original supernova explosion.
Like looking for Easter eggs in a lawn of long grass, the hunt for the Milky Way's most massive stars takes persistence and sharp eyes and powerful telescopes that can see different types of light.
Over four hundred years ago, the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe studied the explosion of a star that later became known as Tycho's supernova.
A new discovery from a famous exploded star has provided the first evidence for a bizarre state of matter in its core.
This image shows Arp 147, a pair of interacting galaxies some 430 million light years from Earth.
GRS 1915+105, or GRS 1915 for short, is a special system. Not only does it contain a black hole some 14 times more massive than the Sun in orbit with a companion star, it also has a heartbeat.
The youngest known black hole in our cosmic neighborhood may have been found using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes.
The most powerful telescopes on the ground and in space have joined forces over the last decade in a unique observing campaign, known as GOODS, which reaches across the spectrum and deep back into cosmic time.
G327.1-1.1 is the aftermath of a massive star that exploded as a supernova in the Milky Way galaxy.
This spectacular image shows the Rosette star formation region, which is located about 5,000 light years from Earth.
This composite image from NASAs Chandra X-ray Observatory with radio data from the Very Large Array shows a cosmic volcano being driven by a black hole in the center of the M87 galaxy.
Deep within this optical image lies an intriguing system known as CH Cyg. CH Cyg is a binary star system containing a white dwarf that feeds from the wind of a red giant star.
This beautiful new image shows two colliding galaxies as seen by NASA's Great Observatories.
This composite image shows the nearby galaxy NGC 7793 that contains a powerful microquasar in its outskirts.
For over a decade, astronomers have been using the Chandra X-ray Observatory to monitor the supermassive black hole in the center of Andromeda, the Milky Way's sister galaxy.
We begin with a composite image of the nearby starburst galaxy M82 that contains X-rays from Chandra in blue, optical data from Hubble in green and orange, and infrared data from Spitzer in red.
This beautiful image shows N49, which is the aftermath of a supernova explosion in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
This composite image of the galaxy cluster Abell 3376 shows X-ray data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the ROSAT telescope along with an optical image from the Digitized Sky Survey and radio emission observed by the Very Large Array.
Data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Spitzer Space Telescope were combined to create this image of the dusty remains of a collapsed star.
This image shows one of the nearest and brightest galaxies to the Milky Way that contains a rapidly growing supermassive black hole known as NGC 1068.
Two spectacular tails of X-ray emission have been seen trailing behind a galaxy known as ESO 137.
This image of M31 represents a study of six elliptical galaxies that Chandra made to determine what causes an important type of supernova.
Evidence from Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Magellan telescopes in Chile suggest that a star has been torn apart by an intermediate-mass black hole.
Astronomers have long known that the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy is a particularly poor eater.
In its first decade of exploration, Chandra has expanded our view of the universe with its unrivaled ability to create high-resolution X-ray images of cosmic phenomena.
In ten years of operation, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has transformed our view of the high-energy universe.
The Crab Nebula is one of the most studied objects in the night sky. This version of the Crab Nebula combines data from three different telescopes.
This never-before-seen view of the turbulent heart of our Milky Way combines a near-infrared view from Hubble, an infrared image from Spitzer, and X-ray data from Chandra.
Cassiopeia A is a supernova remnant found embedded in the constellation that bears its name, which is known as the queen in Greek mythology.
The most distant galaxy cluster yet has been found some 10.2 billion light-years from Earth.
NGC 6240 is a system in which two supermassive black holes are a mere 3,000 light years apart, virtually nothing in astronomical terms.
This image from the Chandra X-ray Observatory reveals a wealth of exotic objects and high-energy features at the center of our Milky Way galaxy.
This composite image of the Hydra A galaxy cluster shows 10-million-degree gas observed by Chandra and jets of radio emission observed by the Very Large Array.
A new study from two of NASA's "Great Observatories" provides fresh insight into how some stars are born, along with a beautiful new image of a stellar nursery in our own Milky Way Galaxy.
In Florence, Italy, in the year 1609, the world changed. Using a small telescope, Galileo proved that the Earth is not distinct from the universe, but part of it. And he showed that there is much more to the universe than we see with the naked eye.
The supernova remnant known as E0102 was one of the targets that Chandra first observed after its launch in 1999.
This beautiful image gives a new look at Stephans Quintet, a compact group of galaxies discovered about 130 years ago and located about 280 million light years from Earth.
We start with an optical and infrared image that shows the crowded area around the object known as GRS 1915+105, or GRS 1915 for short.
This sequence begins with an infrared view from the Spitzer Space Telescope of the central region of the Milky Way.
This image contains one of the most complex galaxy clusters known, which is located about 5.4 billion light years from Earth.
Chandra's X-ray image of the Tarantula Nebula gives scientists a close-up view of the drama of star formation and star evolution.
A small dense object is responsible for the remarkably complex and intriguing structures seen in this image from the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
NGC 604 is a divided neighborhood in the galaxy M33, where some 200 hot, young massive stars reside.
The Crab Nebula is one of the best-known images ever taken by the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
This image of the spiral galaxy Messier 101 is a composite of observations from NASA's three Great Observatories.
The composite image shows the galaxy cluster known as Abell 85, which is located about 740 million light years from Earth.
For the first time, a multiwavelength three-dimensional (3-D) reconstruction of a supernova remnant has been created.
M84 is a massive elliptical galaxy located about 55 million light years from Earth in the Virgo Cluster.
M87 is a giant elliptical galaxy. At a distance of about 60 million light-years from Earth, M87 is the largest galaxy in the Virgo cluster of some 2,000 galaxies.
Abell 1689 is a massive cluster of galaxies located about 2.3 billion light-years away.
In 1995 or 1996 a supernova exploded in a nearby galaxy, but no one on Earth knew it at the time.
RCW 108 is a region where stars are actively forming about 4,000 light-years from Earth.
The giant galaxy, Perseus A, which is also known as NGC 1275, is a well-known source of strong radio radiation.
This composite of data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope is another look for NGC 6543, better known as the Cat's Eye nebula.
Two galaxy clusters, each a quadrillion times the mass of the Sun, collided to form the system formally known as Macs J0025.4-1222.
This image of the mammoth spiral galaxy M81, located about 12 million light years away, contains data from four different NASA satellites.
The brightest supernova ever recorded on Earth, this spectacular light show was documented in China, Japan, Europe, and the Arab world. It was brighter than Venus, and visible during the day for weeks.
There is nothing subtle about the black hole in the galaxy Centaurus A. First off, it's about 10 million times more massive than the sun, and Chandra's X-ray image shows it's not just sitting quietly as a bright point in the middle.
A composite image of NGC 4258, about 25 million light-years from Earth, shows an X-shaped pattern when seen in different types of light.
About a hundred and forty years ago, the light from a supernova explosion in our galaxy reached the Earth, but no one saw it. The discovery of this supernova remnant helps astronomers better understand how often these stellar time-bombs go off in our galaxy.
In 3C321, a jet from a black hole in one of the galaxies is pummeling its neighbor galaxy, the first time this type of galactic violence has ever been seen. The jet could bring big trouble for any planets in its path, but could also trigger a burst of star formation in its wake.
Like the Milky Way, Sombrero is a spiral galaxy. However, we see Sombrero edge-on from our vantage point from Earth, rather than the face-down perspective that is more familiar.
The supernova explosion that created this object was witnessed on Earth about 400 ago years by many skywatchers, including the astronomer Johannes Kepler. This object, which now bears Kepler's name, is the remains of a massive star's demise.
When seen in visible light from the Hubble Space Telescope, M82 looks like an ordinary spiral galaxy.
In 1054 A.D., a star's death in the constellation Taurus was observed on Earth. Now, almost a thousand years later, a superdense neutron star left behind by the explosion is spewing out a blizzard of extremely high-energy particles into the expanding debris field known as the Crab Nebula.
Hubble's image of M51, also known as the Whirlpool Galaxy, shows the majestic spiral arms that are actually long lanes of stars and gas laced with dust. The infrared image from Spitzer also reveals stars and the glow from clouds of interstellar dust.
Cassiopeia A is the 300-year-old remnant created by the supernova explosion of a massive star. Each Great Observatory image highlights different characteristics of the remnant.