 |  | | | | | 2004 Chandra X-Ray Observatory Photos
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This spectacular image of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A is the
most detailed image ever made of the remains of an exploded star. The
one-million-second image shows a bright outer ring (green) 10 light years
in diameter that marks the location of a shock wave generated by the
supernova explosion. A large jet-like structure that protrudes beyond the
shock wave can be seen in the upper left. In the accompanying image,
specially processed to highlight silicon ions, a counter-jet can be seen
on the lower right. + Read More
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Chandra's image of the galaxy cluster Abell 2125 reveals a complex of
several massive multimillion degree Celsius gas clouds appear to be in
the process of merging. Ten of the point-like sources are associated
with galaxies in the cluster and the rest are probably distant background
galaxies. The small bright feature in the extreme lower right-hand
corner is probably a background galaxy cluster not associated with Abell
2125. +
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The X-ray/optical comparison of the region surrounding McNeil's Nebula
shows that the position of a source detected by NASA's Chandra X-ray
Observatory is coincident with that of a bright infrared and optical
source at the apex of the nebula. Source 3 is thought to be a very young
star and is illuminating the fan-shaped cloud of gas, or nebula. The
others sources in the field, labeled 1, 2, and 4, are other young, X-ray
emitting stars in the region. The small nebula, which lies in the
constellation Orion about 1300 light years from Earth, was discovered with a
3-inch telescope by amateur astronomer Jay McNeil in January 2004. +
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This image was produced by combining a dozen NASA Chandra X-ray
Observatory observations made of a 130 light-year region in the center of the
Milky Way. The colors represent low (red), medium (green) and high
(blue) energy X-rays. Thanks to Chandra's unique resolving power,
astronomers have now been able to identify thousands of point-like X-ray sources
due to neutron stars, black holes, white dwarfs, foreground stars, and
background galaxies. What remains is a diffuse X-ray glow extending
from the upper left to the lower right, along the direction of the disk of
the galaxy. +
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A composite image from NASA's Chandra X-ray observatory (blue) and from
the Palomar 200-inch telescope (red and green) of the supernova remnant
W49B reveals a barrel-shaped nebula consisting of bright infrared rings
around a glowing bar of intense X-radiation along the axis. The X-rays
in the bar are produced by 15 million degree Celsius gas that is rich
in iron and nickel ions. At the ends of the barrel, the X-ray emission
flares out to make a hot cap. The X-ray cap is surrounded by a flattened
cloud of hydrogen molecules detected in the infrared. These features
indicate that jets of hot gas produced in the supernova have encountered
a large, dense cloud of gas and dust. +
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This Chandra X-ray Observatory image is a galaxy cluster from the
latest study of dark energy, from a total of 26 clusters in the sample.
Abell 2029's distance corresponds to a light travel time of 1 billion
years. The red diffuse emission shows hot intergalactic gas, heated to about
100 million degrees by the enormous gravity in the cluster, and visible
only in X-rays. The distances to the clusters in the sample can be
derived from the Chandra observations by calculating the relative amounts
of hot gas and dark matter. These distances show that the expansion of
the Universe began accelerating about six billion years ago. Scale:
Image is 8 x 5 arcmin
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This optical (blue) and NASA's Chandra X-ray (red-orange) composite
image shows Abell 2029, a cluster of galaxies. A large elliptical galaxy
is visible in the center of the image, surrounded by smaller galaxies.
The red diffuse emission shows hot intergalactic gas, heated to about
100 million degrees by the enormous gravity in the cluster, and visible
only in X-rays. This galaxy cluster has a redshift of 0.078, at a
distance corresponding to a light travel time of one billion years. Scale:
Image is 8 x 5 arcmin
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This optical image from the Kitt Peak 0.9m telescope shows Abell 2029,
a cluster of galaxies. A arge elliptical galaxy is visible in the
center of the image, surrounded by smaller galaxies. This galaxy cluster has
a redshift of 0.078, at a distance corresponding to a light travel time
of one billion years. Scale: Image is 8 x 5 arcmin
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The Chandra X-ray image of the galaxy cluster MACSJ1423 shows hot gas
displayed in red. The mass of the hot gas is about 6 times greater than
the mass of all the billions of stars in all of the galaxies in the
cluster. This galaxy cluster has a redshift of 0.54, at a distance
corresponding to a light travel time of 5.4 billion years. Scale: Image is 8 x
5 arcmin
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This Chandra image is a galaxy cluster from the latest study of dark
energy (from a total of 26 clusters in the sample). MS2137's distance
corresponds to a light travel time of 3.6 billion years. The red diffuse
emission shows hot intergalactic gas, heated to about 100 million
degrees by the enormous gravity in the cluster, and visible only in X-rays.
The distances to the clusters in the sample can be derived from the
Chandra observations by calculating the relative amounts of hot gas and
dark matter. These distances show that the expansion of the Universe began
accelerating about six billion years ago. Scale: Image is 8 x 5 arcmin
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This image of the galaxy cluster MACSJ1423 is a 3-color optical image
from the Subaru prime focus camera. It shows white and blue galaxies
centered around a large elliptical galaxy. The mass of the hot gas is
about 6 times greater than the mass of all the billions of stars in all of
the galaxies in the cluster. This galaxy cluster has a redshift of
0.54, at a distance corresponding to a light travel time of 5.4 billion
years. Scale: Image is 2.56 x 1.6 arcmin
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This composite image shows views of the galaxy cluster MACSJ1423, using
optical and X-ray telescopes. The optical image, a 3-color composite
from the Subaru prime focus camera, shows white and blue galaxies
centered around a large elliptical galaxy. The Chandra X-ray image shows hot
gas displayed in red. The mass of the hot gas is about 6 times greater
than the mass of all the billions of stars in all of the galaxies in the
cluster. This galaxy cluster have a redshift of 0.54, at a distance
corresponding to a light travel time of 5.4 billion years. Scale: Image is
2.56 x 1.6 arcmin
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The new Chandra observations include estimates of the total energy
content of the Universe. As shown in this illustration, dark energy is
estimated to contribute about 75% of the energy in the Universe, dark
matter about 21% and normal matter about 4%. Only the normal matter can be
directly detected with telescopes, and about 85% of this is hot,
intergalactic gas, as detected in Chandra observations of galaxy clusters.
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Two observations by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory of the giant
elliptical galaxy M87 were combined to make this long-exposure image. A
central jet is surrounded by nearby bright arcs and dark cavities in the
multimillion degree Celsius atmosphere of M87. Much further out, at a
distance of about fifty thousand light years from the galaxy's center,
faint rings can be seen and two spectacular plumes extend beyond the
rings. These features, together with radio observations, are dramatic
evidence that repetitive outbursts from the central supermassive black hole
have been affecting the entire galaxy for a hundred million years or
more. The faint horizontal streaks are instrumental artifacts that occur
for bright sources. +
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The NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory image of SNR 0540-69.3 clearly shows
two aspects of the enormous power released when a massive star
explodes. An implosion crushed material into an extremely dense (10 miles in
diameter) neutron star, triggering an explosion that sent a shock wave
rumbling through space at speeds in excess of 5 million mph. The image
reveals a central intense white blaze of high-energy particles about 3
light years across created by the rapidly rotating neutron star, or
pulsar. Surrounding the white blaze is a shell of hot gas 40 light years in
diameter that marks the outward progress of the supernova shock wave.
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On January 5, 2003, Titan — Saturn's largest moon and the only
moon in the solar system with a thick atmosphere — crossed in front
of the Crab Nebula, a bright, extended X-ray source. Titan's transit
enabled Chandra to image the one-arcsecond-diameter X-ray shadow cast by
the moon (inset). This tiny shadow corresponds to the size of a dime as
viewed from two and a half miles. The diameter of Titan's shadow was
found to be larger than the known diameter of its solid surface. This
difference in diameters yields a measurement of about 550 miles (880
kilometers) for the height of the X-ray absorbing region of Titan's
atmosphere. +
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The Chandra image of N49B, left, the remains of an exploded star, shows
a cloud of multimillion-degree gas that has been expanding for about
10,000 years. A specially processed version of this image, right, reveals
unexpectedly large concentrations of the element magnesium, shown in
blue. Magnesium, created deep inside the star and ejected in the
supernova explosion, is usually associated with correspondingly high
concentrations of oxygen. However, the Chandra data indicate that the amount of
oxygen in N49B is not exceptional. This poses a puzzle as to how the
excess magnesium was created, or, alternatively, how the excess oxygen has
escaped detection. +
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Chandra's image of Saturn held some surprises for the observers. First,
Saturn's 90 megawatts of X-radiation is concentrated near the equator.
This is different from a similar gaseous giant planet, Jupiter, where
the most intense X-rays are associated with the strong magnetic field
near its poles. Saturn's X-ray spectrum, or the distribution of its
X-rays according to energy, was found to be similar to that of X-rays from
the Sun. This indicates that Saturn's X-radiation is due to the
reflection of solar X-rays by Saturn's atmosphere. The intensity of these
reflected X-rays was unexpectedly strong. +
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Chandra observations of the spiral galaxy M101 and several other nearby
galaxies have revealed a possible new class of X-ray sources. These
mysterious X-ray sources, marked with diamonds in the image, are called
“quasisoft” sources because they have a temperature in the
range of one to four million degrees Celsius. The power output of
quasisoft sources is comparable to or greater than that of neutron stars or
stellar-mass black holes fueled by the infall of matter from companion
stars. This implies that the region that produces the X-rays in a
quasisoft source is dozens of times larger. +
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X-ray data from Chandra, the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton, and
the German Roengtensatellite (ROSAT) X-ray observatories provide direct
evidence for the catastrophic destruction of a star that wandered too
close to a supermassive black hole. The accompanying illustration, top,
depicts how such an event may have occurred. A close encounter with
another star put the doomed star — shown by the orange circle —
on a path that took it near a supermassive black hole. The enormous
gravity of the giant black hole stretched the star until it was torn
apart. Because of the momentum and energy of the accretion process, only a
few percent of the disrupted star's mass — indicated by the white
stream — was swallowed by the black hole, while the rest of was
flung away into the surrounding galaxy. +
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This montage of NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory images shows a pair of
interacting galaxies known as The Antennae. Rich deposits of neon,
magnesium, and silicon were discovered in the interstellar gas of this
system. The top image, a wide field X-ray view, reveals spectacular loops of
hot gas spreading out from the southern part of The Antenna into
intergalactic space. Also shown are huge clouds of multimillion-degree gas
and bright point like sources due to neutron stars and black holes. The
image is color coded so that low, medium and high energy X-rays appear
as red, green and blue, respectively. +
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These images offer a dramatic look at C153, a galaxy being ripped apart
as it races at 4.5 million miles per hour through a distant cluster of
galaxies. The infalling galaxy's gas is being stripped by the pressure
of 20 million degree Celsius gas that permeates the cluster. At left is
a composite image made by combining the four images at right, taken in
X-ray, radio, and visible wavelengths as well as the visible, green
light emitted by oxygen ions. Long comet-like streamers of gas can be seen
flowing from the galaxy as it travels through the cluster called Abell
2125. The images span about one million light-years. +
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A color composite image of the galaxy cluster RCDS1252.9-292 shows the
X-ray, in purple, light from 70-million-degree Celsius gas in the
cluster and the optical -- shown in red, yellow and green -- light from the
galaxies in the cluster. X-ray data from NASA's Chandra X-ray
Observatory and the XMM-Newton Observatory show that this cluster was fully
formed more than 8 billion years ago, and has a mass at least 300 trillion
times that of the Sun. At a distance of 8.6 billion light years, it is
the most massive cluster ever observed at such an early stage in the
evolution of the universe. +
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