To celebrate the 25th anniversary of NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Chandra team has released a set of 25 new images of cosmic objects and phenomena.
This collection of images was released to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Chandra. Image credit: NASA / CXC / SAO.
On July 23, 1999, the space shuttle Columbia launched into orbit carrying Chandra, which was then the heaviest payload ever carried by the shuttle.
With Commander Eileen Collins at the helm, the astronauts aboard Columbia successfully deployed Chandra into its highly elliptical orbit that takes it nearly one-third of the distance to the Moon.
“For a quarter century, Chandra has made discovery after amazing discovery,” said Dr. Pat Slane, director of the Chandra X-ray Center located at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
“Astronomers have used Chandra to investigate mysteries that we didn’t even know about when we were building the telescope — including exoplanets and dark energy.”
“Chandra has been a great success story for humanity and its pursuit of knowledge,” said Dr. Andrew Schnell, acting project manager of Chandra at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
“The telescope’s incredible accomplishments are made possible by the team’s hard work and dedication.”
The new set of images is a sample of almost 25,000 observations Chandra has taken during its quarter century in space.
In 1976, Riccardo Giacconi and Harvey Tananbaum first proposed to NASA the mission that would one day become Chandra.
Eventually, Chandra was selected to become one of NASA’s Great Observatories, along with the Hubble Space Telescope and the now-retired Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and Spitzer Space Telescope, each looking at different types of light.
In 2002, Giacconi was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for pioneering contributions to astrophysics, which have led to the discovery of cosmic X-ray sources, laying the foundation for the development and launch of Chandra.
Today, astronomers continue to use Chandra data in conjunction with other powerful telescopes including the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), and many more.
“On behalf of the STS-93 crew, we are tremendously proud of the Chandra X-ray Observatory and its brilliant team that built and launched this astronomical treasure,” said Eileen Collins, commander of the space shuttle Columbia mission that launched Chandra into space in 1999.
“Chandra’s discoveries have continually astounded and impressed us over the past 25 years.”
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This article is a version of a press-release provided by NASA.