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.
00:10To celebrate the 25th anniversary of its launch,
00:14NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is releasing 25
00:18never-before-seen views of a wide range of cosmic objects.
00:22These images, which all show data from Chandra,
00:26demonstrate 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.
00:42On July 23, 1999,
00:46the space shuttle Columbia launched into orbit,
00:50carrying Chandra, which was then the heaviest payload ever carried by the shuttle.
00:54With Commander Eileen Collins at the helm,
00:58the astronomers aboard Columbia successfully deployed Chandra
01:02into its highly elliptical orbit that takes it nearly one-third of the distance to the Moon.
01:06X-rays are an especially penetrating type of light
01:10that reveals extremely hot objects and very energetic physical processes.
01:14Many fascinating regions in space glow strongly in X-rays,
01:18such as the debris from exploded stars
01:22and material swirling around black holes.
01:26Stars, 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
01:3425,000 observations Chandra has taken during its quarter-century in space.
01:42In 1976, Riccardo Giacconi and Harvey Tannenbaum
01:46first proposed to NASA the mission that would one day become Chandra.
01:50Eventually, Chandra was selected to become one of NASA's
01:54great observatories, along with the Hubble Space Telescope,
01:58Compton Gamma-ray Observatory, and Spitzer Space Telescope,
02:02each looking at different types of light.
02:06Today, astronomers continue to use Chandra data in conjunction with other powerful telescopes,
02:10including the James Webb Space Telescope, Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer,
02:14and many more.
02:18Chandra has over 1,000 PhDs and has supported a diverse talent pool
02:22of more than 3,500 undergraduate and graduate students,
02:26about 1,700 postdocs, and over 5,000 unique principal investigators
02:30throughout the U.S. and worldwide.
02:34Demand for the telescope has consistently been extremely high throughout the entire mission,
02:38with only about 20% of the requested observing time able to be approved.
02:42Despite being in space for a quarter-century,
02:46Chandra is operating remarkably well and is still making discovery after discovery.
02:50Scientists are looking forward to using this exceptional telescope
02:54for years to come.
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