Chandra X-ray Observatory

Chandra X-ray Observatory
Artist's illustration of the Chandra X-ray Observatory
Mission typeX-ray Astronomy
OperatorNASA
COSPAR ID1999-040B
SATCAT no.25867Edit this on Wikidata
Websitechandra.harvard.edu
Mission duration5 years (planned)
25 years, 4 months, 9 days (in progress)
Start of mission
Launch dateJuly 23, 1999, 04:30:59.984 UTC
RocketSpace Shuttle Columbia (STS-93)
Launch siteKennedy, LC-39B
ContractorNASA
 

The Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) [1] is a space telescope launched by NASA on July 23, 1999.

Chandra is sensitive to X-ray sources 100 times fainter than any previous X-ray telescope. This is done by the high angular resolution of its mirrors.[2] Since the Earth's atmosphere absorbs the vast majority of X-rays, Earth-based telescopes cannot detect them. Space-based telescopes are needed to make these observations. Chandra is an Earth satellite in a 64-hour orbit, and its mission is ongoing as of 2024.

Chandra is one of the Great Observatories, with the Hubble Space Telescope, Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (1991–2000), and the Spitzer Space Telescope. The telescope is named after Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.[3]

References

  1. ↑ previously known as the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF)
  2. ↑ Chandra X-ray Observatory Quick Facts. NASA.gov. August 1999. FS-1999-09-111-MSFC. [1] Archived 2015-07-19 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ "And the co-winners are...". Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 1998. [2] Archived 2014-01-12 at the Wayback Machine