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
Credit: NASA/CXC/A. Hobart
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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.