NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has been observing the cosmos for 20 years. To mark the occasion, astronomers have released some of the most beautiful astro images captured by the telescope yet.
NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched into space on 23 July 1999 on board Space Shuttle Columbia. Over the past two decades it has given us unprecedented views of nebulae, galaxies and other cosmic phenomena, revealing the secrets of the Universe to astronomers.
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Observing the cosmos in X-ray light enables Chandra to see objects and phenomena that would otherwise be obscured from view, enabling discoveries pertaining to the past, present and future of the Universe.
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To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the Chandra team has released a collection of new images captured by the telescope, demonstrating its ability to produce beautiful but also scientifically-important observations.
Abell 2146 This object is the result of a merger of two galaxy clusters. Galaxy clusters are the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity. Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ of Waterloo/H. Russell et al.; Optical: NASA/STScI
Galactic Centre This is the centre of the Milky Way, our home Galaxy. The Milky Way contains a supermassive black hole about four million times the mass of the Sun. Credit: X-Ray: NASA/CXC/UMass/D. Wang et al.; Radio: SARAO/MeerKAT
30 Doradus This is one of the largest star-forming regions near the Milky Way. Chandra observes gas heated to millions of degrees by streams of charged particles from hot young stars known as ‘stellar winds’. Credit: NASA/CXC/Penn State Univ./L. Townsley et al.
Cygnus OB2 This region contains stars even more massive than our Sun, which shoot out high-energy stellar winds that Chandra can detect in X-ray. Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Drake et al; Optical:Univ. of Hertfordshire/INT/IPHAS; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Spitzer
NGC 604 Star-forming region NGC 604 is contained within galaxy Messier 33. About 200 hot, young, massive stars are contained within this region. Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Arkansas/K. Garofali et al.; Optical: NASA/AURA/STScI/J. Schmidt
G292.0+1.8 When stars explode as a supernova, they leave behind objects known as supernova remnants. This one is a rare type that contains large amounts of oxygen. Credit: NASA/CXC/University of Texas/J. Bhalerao et al.
