Current:Home > InvestNASA releases eye-popping, never-before-seen images of nebulae, galaxies in space-LoTradeCoin
NASA releases eye-popping, never-before-seen images of nebulae, galaxies in space
View Date:2024-12-23 19:20:14
Dozens of never-before-seen images of cosmic objects from the corners of the universe captured by the world's most powerful X-ray telescope were released on Tuesday.
The breathtaking images, taken by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, were released by NASA in honor of the 25th anniversary of the telescope's launch into space.
Taken with X-Ray data collected by Chandra, the pictures show a stunning range of phenomena, from the remnants of a supernova, to a nebula thousands of light years from Earth, to the center of the Milky Way galaxy, according to a NASA news release. The recently released images are part of nearly 25,000 collected by Chandra over its time in space.
Chandra observed the cosmic objects for up to thousands of hours, according to the photo gallery released by NASA. For instance, it took the telescope 64 days of observation time and 370 observations over the course of 20 years to capture an image of the Milky Way's center, which is about 26,000 light-years away from Earth.
Other images show the vivid colors of nebulae, like the crimson red of the Cat's Paw Nebula, which lies 4,370 light years away from Earth, and the bright purple of the Crab Nebula within the Taurus constellation. One image shows Cassiopeia A, a remnant of a supernova 340 years ago. Another is the product of Chandra's nearly 10 hours of observing the planet Jupiter.
More:Starliner astronauts are 'not complaining' about longer stay in space
Chandra uses super smooth mirrors to focus X-rays
Chandra, launched on July 23, 1999, is one of four great telescopes released by NASA that decade, including the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes, and the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. Only Chandra and Hubble are still in space.
“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," Pat Slane, director of the Chandra X-ray Center at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said in the news release.
Unlike Hubble, which traces a close, circular path around Earth, Chandra charts an elliptical orbit around Earth, traveling as close as 6,000 miles and as far as 86,400 miles from the Earth on its 64-hour orbit.
Chandra is outfitted with four pairs of the smoothest and cleanest mirrors ever made, according to NASA. The mirrors focus incoming X-rays to a spot half as wide as a human hair, where they are captured and recorded by Chandra's science instruments.
Among Chandra's observations are the oldest black hole ever discovered and two galaxies colliding. The telescope also uncovered the first proof of the existence of dark matter.
Cybele Mayes-Osterman is a breaking news reporter for USA Today. Reach her on email at [email protected]. Follow her on X @CybeleMO.
veryGood! (54858)
Related
- Horoscopes Today, November 11, 2024
- The pause is over. As student loan payments resume, how to make sure you're prepared
- USA TODAY Sports staff makes college football picks: Check out the predictions for 2023
- North Carolina GOP legislator Paré running for Democrat-controlled US House seat
- Avril Lavigne’s Ex Mod Sun Is Dating Love Is Blind Star Brittany Wisniewski, Debuts Romance With a Kiss
- Can Ozempic, Wegovy reduce alcohol, nicotine and other cravings? Doctor weighs in on what to know.
- Canada issues US travel advisory warning LGBTQ+ community about laws thay may affect them
- Justice Clarence Thomas reports he took 3 trips on Republican donor’s plane last year
- NBA today: Injuries pile up, Mavericks are on a skid, Nuggets return to form
- 2 students stabbed at Florida high school in community cleaning up from Hurricane Idalia
Ranking
- Daniele Rustioni to become Metropolitan Opera’s principal guest conductor
- New Mexico authorities raid homes looking for evidence of alleged biker gang crimes
- Dolphins' Tyreek Hill won't be suspended by NFL for June marina incident
- Los Angeles Rams WR Cooper Kupp has setback in hamstring injury recovery
- Northern Taurid meteor shower hits peak activity this week: When and where to watch
- White House asks Congress to pass short-term spending bill to avert government shutdown
- ESPN goes dark for Spectrum cable subscribers amid Disney-Charter Communications dispute
- Tropical Storm Jose forms in the Atlantic Ocean
Recommendation
-
Amazon's 'Cross' almost gets James Patterson detective right: Review
-
Weeks after the fire, the response in Maui shifts from a sprint to a marathon
-
Your Labor Day weekend travel forecast
-
Rising tensions between employers and employees have put the labor back in this year’s Labor Day
-
Dwayne Johnson Admits to Peeing in Bottles on Set After Behavior Controversy
-
After years of fighting, a praying football coach got his job back. Now he’s unsure he wants it
-
Trial underway for Iowa teenager accused of murdering 2 at school for at-risk youth
-
Velocity at what cost? MLB's hardest throwers keep succumbing to Tommy John surgery