13 photos from NASA's most powerful X-ray space telescope reveal the invisible universe

Morgan McFall-JohnsenJul 25, 2024, 04:35 IST

The Crab Nebula, the result of a bright supernova explosion witnessed by astronomers in 1054 A.D. Chandra sees the rings around its center with jets blasting into space (bright purple).X-ray: (Chandra) NASA/CXC/SAO, (IXPE) NASA/MSFC; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/K. Arcand, L. Frattare, and J. Schmidt<ul class="summary-list"><li>NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is one of its most scientifically productive space missions.</li><li>The <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-james-webb-vs-hubble-universe-pictures-show-huge-improvement-2022-7">telescope has been in space</a> for 25 years, discovering black holes and dark matter.</li></ul>NASA has been using X-rays to crack the <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vanishing-radio-signals-mystery-objects-in-milky-way-galaxy-center-2022-1">invisible secrets of the universe</a> for decades.The Einstein Observatory pioneered X-ray astronomy in the late '70s, but the crown jewel of this science field is the <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-new-space-images-galaxies-james-webb-telescope-chandra-xray-2023-5">Chandra X-ray Observatory</a>, which has been in space for the last 25 years.Here are some of Chandra's <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/space-photos-black-holes-planets-stars-galaxies-discoveries-2022-11">most stunning images</a> and groundbreaking discoveries of the invisible X-ray universe.

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has been capturing the invisible universe for 25 years.

A rare type of Wolf-Rayet star — a bright, massive star experiencing a short-lived phase in its evolution. The purple dots are stars detected with Chandra.X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Infrared: (Herschel) ESA/NASA/Caltech, (Spitzer) NASA/JPL/Caltech, (WISE) NASA/JPL/Caltech; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/Webb ERO Production Team; Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Major

X-rays are not in the visible range of light, but they often point to dramatic events in space.

The Tarantula Nebula, imaged by the Chandra and Webb space telescopes. Chandra's X-ray observations (in royal blue and purple) reveal gas that was heated to millions of degrees by shock waves from the wind of massive stars.X-ray: NASA/CXC/Penn State Univ./L. Townsley et al.; IR: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/JWST ERO Production Team

Chandra often reveals new details that other telescopes can't see.

The Pillars of Creation, imaged by the James Webb Space Telescope, with a colorful array of stars scattered across the area, imaged by Chandra.X-ray: NASA/CXO/SAO; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare

Take the bright purple spots in this galaxy, for example. Those are X-ray-emitting objects that Chandra identified.

Messier 74, nicknamed "the Phantom Galaxy" for its dimness, comes to life when Chandra revealed its X-ray activity (purple) alongside observations from Hubble and Webb.X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI; IR NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI, J. Lee and the PHANGS-JWST Team; Image Processing: N. Wolk and K. Arcand

Chandra's X-ray vision revealed that the universe is teeming with black holes.

A supermassive black hole at the center of the Centaurus A galaxy shoots an enormous jet of particles into space. Chandra resolved both the jets and the faint blue bubble surrounding the galaxy.X-ray: (Chandra) NASA/CXC/SAO, (IXPE) NASA/MSFC; Optical: ESO; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/K. Arcand, J. Major

It also revealed the X-ray emissions from Jupiter's polar lights.

Jupiter, pictured by the Hubble Space Telescope, with X-ray emissions detected by Chandra in purple.X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Major, S. Wolk

All in all, Chandra has made nearly 25,000 observations.

A bubble of debris from a supernova, imaged with X-ray data from Chandra and optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope.X-ray: NASA/CXC/GSFC/B. J. Williams et al.; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI

Some of the most stunning photos are collaborations with other observatories, like Webb.

Combined data from Chandra and Webb revealed new details of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A.X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI; IR: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/Milisavljevic et al., NASA/JPL/CalTech; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Schmidt and K. Arcand

Chandra has even turned its gaze to the center of our galaxy.

A mosaic of the center of the Milky Way, using data from Chandra (shown in orange, green, and purple) and the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa (gray).X-ray: NASA/CXC/UMass/Q.D. Wang; Radio: NRF/SARAO/MeerKAT

Here's a snapshot of the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way.

Chandra spotted Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way.NASA/CXC/Univ. of Wisconsin/Y.Bai, et al.

Chandra may be nearing the end of its mission after drastic budget cuts.

In the Cat's Paw nebula, where stars are forming in the Milky Way galaxy, X-rays from Chandra show populations of young stars.X-ray: NASA/SAO/CXC; Optical and H-alpha: ESO/MPG; Infrared: NASA/JPL-CalTech/Spitzer; Image Processing: Jason Major

Chandra is still fully functional, though, and continues to make visually stunning discoveries.

This supernova remnant is the leftovers from an exploded star called 3C 58. The bright, elongated, white object at the center is a dense, fast-spinning neutron star.X-ray: NASA/CXC/ICE-CSIC/A. Marino et al.; Optical: SDSS; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Major

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