A Tour of NGC 3079 Superbubbles Chandra X-ray Observatory 2019-03-01 | On Earth, we are familiar with bubbles associated with soap or carbonated water. These bubbles consist of a thin film of liquid enclosing a volume of air or other gas that is only a few inches across. In space, however, bubbles can have very different properties: they are composed of a volume of lighter gas inside a heavier one and they can be huge. Astronomers have found that the galaxy NGC 3079, located about 67 million light years from Earth, contains two "superbubbles" unlike anything here on our planet. A pair of balloon-like regions stretch out on opposite sides of the center of the galaxy: one is 4,900 light years (or about 30 million billion miles) across. The other is only slightly smaller with a diameter of about 3,600 light years.The superbubbles in NGC 3079 are defined by X-ray, optical and radio emission. New observations from Chandra show that in NGC 3079 a cosmic particle accelerator is producing ultra-energetic particles in the rims of the superbubbles. These particles can be much more energetic than those created by the world's most powerful accelerators like the Large Hadron Collider.The superbubbles in NGC 3079 provide evidence that they and structures like them may be the source of extremely energetic cosmic rays, which are not rays but high-energy particles that regularly bombard the Earth. Shock waves — akin to sonic booms caused by supersonic planes — associated with supernova explosions can accelerate particles up to energies about 100 times larger than those generated in the Large Hadron Collider, but astronomers are uncertain about where even more energetic cosmic rays come from. This new result suggests superbubbles may be one source of these ultra-energetic cosmic rays.NGC 3079's superbubbles are younger cousins of the "Fermi bubbles", first located in the Milky Way galaxy in 2010. Astronomers think such superbubbles may form when processes associated with the infall of matter into a supermassive black hole in the center of galaxy leads to the release of enormous amounts of energy in the form of particles and magnetic fields. Superbubbles may also be sculpted by winds flowing from a large number of young, massive stars.
Data Sonification: Stephans Quintet (Background & Foreground Only, Infrared) Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-06-20 | Astronomers often look at objects in space through multiple telescopes. Because different telescopes can detect different types of light, each brings its own pieces of information to whatever is being observed. This is similar in some ways to how different notes of the musical scale can be played together to create harmonies that are impossible with single notes alone.In the past few years, NASA has been producing “sonifications” of astronomical data of objects in space. This project takes the digital data captured by its telescopes in space — most of which is invisible to our unaided eyes — and translates them into musical notes and sounds so they can be heard rather than seen. Each layer of sound in these sonifications represents particular wavelengths of light detected by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, and Spitzer Space Telescope in various combinations.These sonifications were led by the Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) and included as part of NASA's Universe of Learning (UoL) program. The collaboration was driven by visualization scientist Kimberly Arcand (CXC), astrophysicist Matt Russo, and musician Andrew Santaguida (both of the SYSTEM Sounds project).For more information, visit: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/sonify7/
Data Sonification: M104 (Optical Only) Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-06-20 | Astronomers often look at objects in space through multiple telescopes. Because different telescopes can detect different types of light, each brings its own pieces of information to whatever is being observed. This is similar in some ways to how different notes of the musical scale can be played together to create harmonies that are impossible with single notes alone.In the past few years, NASA has been producing “sonifications” of astronomical data of objects in space. This project takes the digital data captured by its telescopes in space — most of which is invisible to our unaided eyes — and translates them into musical notes and sounds so they can be heard rather than seen. Each layer of sound in these sonifications represents particular wavelengths of light detected by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, and Spitzer Space Telescope in various combinations.These sonifications were led by the Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) and included as part of NASA's Universe of Learning (UoL) program. The collaboration was driven by visualization scientist Kimberly Arcand (CXC), astrophysicist Matt Russo, and musician Andrew Santaguida (both of the SYSTEM Sounds project).For more information, visit: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/sonify7/
Data Sonification: R Aquarii (X-ray Only) Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-06-20 | Astronomers often look at objects in space through multiple telescopes. Because different telescopes can detect different types of light, each brings its own pieces of information to whatever is being observed. This is similar in some ways to how different notes of the musical scale can be played together to create harmonies that are impossible with single notes alone.In the past few years, NASA has been producing “sonifications” of astronomical data of objects in space. This project takes the digital data captured by its telescopes in space — most of which is invisible to our unaided eyes — and translates them into musical notes and sounds so they can be heard rather than seen. Each layer of sound in these sonifications represents particular wavelengths of light detected by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, and Spitzer Space Telescope in various combinations.These sonifications were led by the Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) and included as part of NASA's Universe of Learning (UoL) program. The collaboration was driven by visualization scientist Kimberly Arcand (CXC), astrophysicist Matt Russo, and musician Andrew Santaguida (both of the SYSTEM Sounds project).For more information, visit: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/sonify7/
Data Sonification: R Aquarii (Optical Only) Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-06-20 | Astronomers often look at objects in space through multiple telescopes. Because different telescopes can detect different types of light, each brings its own pieces of information to whatever is being observed. This is similar in some ways to how different notes of the musical scale can be played together to create harmonies that are impossible with single notes alone.In the past few years, NASA has been producing “sonifications” of astronomical data of objects in space. This project takes the digital data captured by its telescopes in space — most of which is invisible to our unaided eyes — and translates them into musical notes and sounds so they can be heard rather than seen. Each layer of sound in these sonifications represents particular wavelengths of light detected by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, and Spitzer Space Telescope in various combinations.These sonifications were led by the Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) and included as part of NASA's Universe of Learning (UoL) program. The collaboration was driven by visualization scientist Kimberly Arcand (CXC), astrophysicist Matt Russo, and musician Andrew Santaguida (both of the SYSTEM Sounds project).For more information, visit: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/sonify7/
Data Sonification: Stephans Quintet (Infrared Only) Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-06-20 | Astronomers often look at objects in space through multiple telescopes. Because different telescopes can detect different types of light, each brings its own pieces of information to whatever is being observed. This is similar in some ways to how different notes of the musical scale can be played together to create harmonies that are impossible with single notes alone.In the past few years, NASA has been producing “sonifications” of astronomical data of objects in space. This project takes the digital data captured by its telescopes in space — most of which is invisible to our unaided eyes — and translates them into musical notes and sounds so they can be heard rather than seen. Each layer of sound in these sonifications represents particular wavelengths of light detected by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, and Spitzer Space Telescope in various combinations.These sonifications were led by the Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) and included as part of NASA's Universe of Learning (UoL) program. The collaboration was driven by visualization scientist Kimberly Arcand (CXC), astrophysicist Matt Russo, and musician Andrew Santaguida (both of the SYSTEM Sounds project).For more information, visit: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/sonify7/
Data Sonification: Stephans Quintet (Multiwavelength) Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-06-20 | Astronomers often look at objects in space through multiple telescopes. Because different telescopes can detect different types of light, each brings its own pieces of information to whatever is being observed. This is similar in some ways to how different notes of the musical scale can be played together to create harmonies that are impossible with single notes alone.In the past few years, NASA has been producing “sonifications” of astronomical data of objects in space. This project takes the digital data captured by its telescopes in space — most of which is invisible to our unaided eyes — and translates them into musical notes and sounds so they can be heard rather than seen. Each layer of sound in these sonifications represents particular wavelengths of light detected by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, and Spitzer Space Telescope in various combinations.Stephan's Quintet:In Stephan’s Quintet, four galaxies move around each other, held together by gravity, while a fifth galaxy sits in the frame but is actually at a much different distance. A visual image of Stephan’s Quintet contains infrared light from the James Webb Space Telescope (red, orange, yellow, green, and blue) with additional data from the Spitzer Space Telescope (red, green, and blue) and X-ray light from Chandra (light blue). A sonification of these data begins at the top and scans the image downward. As the cursor moves, the pitch changes in relationship to the brightness in different ways. The background galaxies and foreground stars in the visual images Webb detects are mapped to different notes on a synthetic glass marimba. Meanwhile, stars with diffraction spikes are played as crash symbols. The galaxies of Stephan’s Quintet themselves are heard as smoothly changing frequencies as the scan passes over them. The X-rays from Chandra, which reveal a shock wave that has superheated gas to tens of millions of degrees, are represented by a synthetic string sound.These sonifications were led by the Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) and included as part of NASA's Universe of Learning (UoL) program. The collaboration was driven by visualization scientist Kimberly Arcand (CXC), astrophysicist Matt Russo, and musician Andrew Santaguida (both of the SYSTEM Sounds project).For more information, visit: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/sonify7/
Data Sonification: Stephans Quintet (Quintet Only, Infrared) Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-06-20 | Astronomers often look at objects in space through multiple telescopes. Because different telescopes can detect different types of light, each brings its own pieces of information to whatever is being observed. This is similar in some ways to how different notes of the musical scale can be played together to create harmonies that are impossible with single notes alone.In the past few years, NASA has been producing “sonifications” of astronomical data of objects in space. This project takes the digital data captured by its telescopes in space — most of which is invisible to our unaided eyes — and translates them into musical notes and sounds so they can be heard rather than seen. Each layer of sound in these sonifications represents particular wavelengths of light detected by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, and Spitzer Space Telescope in various combinations.These sonifications were led by the Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) and included as part of NASA's Universe of Learning (UoL) program. The collaboration was driven by visualization scientist Kimberly Arcand (CXC), astrophysicist Matt Russo, and musician Andrew Santaguida (both of the SYSTEM Sounds project).For more information, visit: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/sonify7/
Tour: Cosmic Harmonies: Sonifications From NASA Telescopes Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-06-20 | Astronomers often look at objects in space through multiple telescopes. Because different telescopes can detect different types of light, each brings its own pieces of information to understanding whatever is beingobserved. This is similar in some ways to how different notes of the musical scale can be played together to create harmonies that are impossible with single notes alone.In the past few years, NASA has been producing “sonifications” of astronomical data of objects in space. This project takes the digital data captured by its telescopes in space — most of which is invisible to our unaided eyes — and translates them into musical notes and sounds so they can be heard rather than seen. Each layer of sound in these sonifications represents particular wavelengths of light detected by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, and Spitzer Space Telescope in various combinations.R Aquarii is a system with two stars — a white dwarf and a red giant — in orbit around each other. In the sonification of R Aquarii, the volume changes in proportion to the brightness of sources in Hubble’s visible light and Chandra’s X-ray image, while the distance from the center dictates the musical pitch, meaning the higher notes are farther out. We can hear jets from the white dwarf as the cursor travels near the two o’clock and eight o’clock positions. The ribbon-like arcs captured by Hubble create a rising and falling melody that sounds similar to a set of singing bowls. These are metal bowls that produce different sounds and tones when struck with a mallet. Meanwhile the Chandra data are rendered to sound more like a synthetic and windy purr.In Stephan’s Quintet, four galaxies move around each other, held together by gravity, while a fifth galaxy sits in the frame but is actually at a much different distance. The pitch in a sonification of Chandra and James Webb data changes in relationship to the brightness in different ways. The background galaxies and foreground stars in the visual images Webb detects are mapped to different notes on a synthetic glass marimba. Meanwhile, stars with diffraction spikes are played as crash symbols. The galaxies of Stephan’s Quintet themselves are heard as smoothly changing frequencies as the scan passes over them. The X-rays from Chandra, which reveal a shock wave that has superheated gas to tens of millions of degrees, are represented by a synthetic string sound.The third sonification in this new batch is Messier 104, or M104 for short, one of the largest galaxies in the nearby Virgo cluster. As we it from from Earth, the galaxy is angled nearly edge-on. This allows us a view of the spiral galaxy’s bright core and spiral arms wrapped around it. In sonifying Chandra, Spitzer, and Hubble data of M104, we begin at the top and scans toward the bottom of the image. The brightness controls the volume and the pitch, meaning the brightest sources in the image are the loudest and highest frequencies. The data from the three telescopes are mapped to different types of sounds. The X-rays from Chandra sound like a synthesizer, Spitzer’s infrared data are strings, and optical light from Hubble has bell-like tones. The core of the galaxy, its dust lanes and spiral arms, and point-like X-ray sources are all audible features in the sonification of these data.More at: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/sonify7/
Data Sonification: M104 (Individual & Combined Wavelengths) Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-06-20 | Astronomers often look at objects in space through multiple telescopes. Because different telescopes can detect different types of light, each brings its own pieces of information to whatever is being observed. This is similar in some ways to how different notes of the musical scale can be played together to create harmonies that are impossible with single notes alone.In the past few years, NASA has been producing “sonifications” of astronomical data of objects in space. This project takes the digital data captured by its telescopes in space — most of which is invisible to our unaided eyes — and translates them into musical notes and sounds so they can be heard rather than seen. Each layer of sound in these sonifications represents particular wavelengths of light detected by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, and Spitzer Space Telescope in various combinations.M104:Messier 104 (M104 for short), located about 28 million light-years from Earth, is one of the largest galaxies in the nearby Virgo cluster. As seen from Earth, the galaxy is angled nearly edge-on allowing a view of its bright core and spiral arms wrapped around it. Spitzer's infrared view of M104 shows a ring of dust circling the galaxy that pierces through the obscuring dust in Hubble’s optical light image. Spitzer also sees an otherwise hidden disk of stars within the dust ring. The Chandra X-ray image shows hot gas in the galaxy and point sources that are a mixture of objects within M104 as well as quasars in the background. The Chandra observations show that diffuse X-ray emission extends over 60,000 light years from the center of the M104. (The galaxy itself spans 50,000 light years across.) In sonifying these data, we can listen to each type of light either separately or together. Either option begins at the top and scans toward the bottom of the image. The brightness controls the volume and the pitch, meaning the brightest sources in the image are the loudest and highest frequencies. The data from the three telescopes are mapped to different types of sounds. The X-rays from Chandra sound like a synthesizer, Spitzer’s infrared data are strings, and optical light from Hubble has bell-like tones. The core of the galaxy, its dust lanes and spiral arms, and point-like X-ray sources are all audible features in the sonification of these data.These sonifications were led by the Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) and included as part of NASA's Universe of Learning (UoL) program. The collaboration was driven by visualization scientist Kimberly Arcand (CXC), astrophysicist Matt Russo, and musician Andrew Santaguida (both of the SYSTEM Sounds project).For more information, visit: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/sonify7/
Data Sonification: M104 (X-ray Only) Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-06-20 | Astronomers often look at objects in space through multiple telescopes. Because different telescopes can detect different types of light, each brings its own pieces of information to whatever is being observed. This is similar in some ways to how different notes of the musical scale can be played together to create harmonies that are impossible with single notes alone.In the past few years, NASA has been producing “sonifications” of astronomical data of objects in space. This project takes the digital data captured by its telescopes in space — most of which is invisible to our unaided eyes — and translates them into musical notes and sounds so they can be heard rather than seen. Each layer of sound in these sonifications represents particular wavelengths of light detected by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, and Spitzer Space Telescope in various combinations.These sonifications were led by the Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) and included as part of NASA's Universe of Learning (UoL) program. The collaboration was driven by visualization scientist Kimberly Arcand (CXC), astrophysicist Matt Russo, and musician Andrew Santaguida (both of the SYSTEM Sounds project).For more information, visit: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/sonify7/
Quick Look: Cosmic Harmonies: Sonifications From NASA Telescopes Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-06-20 | Three new ‘sonifications’ of NASA data have been released.Sonification is a process of translating data into music and sound.NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has sonified many objects.The new batch includes R Aquarii, Stephan’s Quintet, and M104.More at: More at: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/sonify7/
Data Sonification: M104 (Infrared Only) Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-06-20 | Astronomers often look at objects in space through multiple telescopes. Because different telescopes can detect different types of light, each brings its own pieces of information to whatever is being observed. This is similar in some ways to how different notes of the musical scale can be played together to create harmonies that are impossible with single notes alone.In the past few years, NASA has been producing “sonifications” of astronomical data of objects in space. This project takes the digital data captured by its telescopes in space — most of which is invisible to our unaided eyes — and translates them into musical notes and sounds so they can be heard rather than seen. Each layer of sound in these sonifications represents particular wavelengths of light detected by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, and Spitzer Space Telescope in various combinations.These sonifications were led by the Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) and included as part of NASA's Universe of Learning (UoL) program. The collaboration was driven by visualization scientist Kimberly Arcand (CXC), astrophysicist Matt Russo, and musician Andrew Santaguida (both of the SYSTEM Sounds project).For more information, visit: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/sonify7/
Data Sonification: R Aquarii (Multiwavelength) Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-06-20 | Astronomers often look at objects in space through multiple telescopes. Because different telescopes can detect different types of light, each brings its own pieces of information to whatever is being observed. This is similar in some ways to how different notes of the musical scale can be played together to create harmonies that are impossible with single notes alone.In the past few years, NASA has been producing “sonifications” of astronomical data of objects in space. This project takes the digital data captured by its telescopes in space — most of which is invisible to our unaided eyes — and translates them into musical notes and sounds so they can be heard rather than seen. Each layer of sound in these sonifications represents particular wavelengths of light detected by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, and Spitzer Space Telescope in various combinations.R Aquarii:The system called R Aquarii contains two stars – a white dwarf and a red giant – in orbit around each other. In a composite visual image, Hubble data (red and blue) reveal spectacular structures that are evidence of outbursts generated by the pair of stars buried at the center of the image. X-rays from Chandra show a jet from the white dwarf banging into the material surrounding it and creating shock waves. In the sonification of R Aquarii, the piece evolves as a radar-like scan of the image, clockwise starting at the 12 o’clock position. The volume changes in proportion to the brightness of sources in Hubble’s visible light and Chandra’s X-ray image, while the distance from the center dictates the musical pitch (higher notes are farther out). The deep thuds toward the four corners are “diffraction spikes,” which are artifacts from the bright central star. Listeners can hear jets from the white dwarf as the cursor travels near the two o’clock and eight o’clock positions. The ribbon-like arcs captured by Hubble create a rising and falling melody that sounds similar to a set of singing bowls (metal bowls that produce different sounds and tones when struck with a mallet), while the Chandra data are rendered to sound more like a synthetic andThese sonifications were led by the Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) and included as part of NASA's Universe of Learning (UoL) program. The collaboration was driven by visualization scientist Kimberly Arcand (CXC), astrophysicist Matt Russo, and musician Andrew Santaguida (both of the SYSTEM Sounds project).For more information, visit: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/sonify7/
Data Sonification: M104 (Multiwavelength) Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-06-20 | Astronomers often look at objects in space through multiple telescopes. Because different telescopes can detect different types of light, each brings its own pieces of information to whatever is being observed. This is similar in some ways to how different notes of the musical scale can be played together to create harmonies that are impossible with single notes alone.In the past few years, NASA has been producing “sonifications” of astronomical data of objects in space. This project takes the digital data captured by its telescopes in space — most of which is invisible to our unaided eyes — and translates them into musical notes and sounds so they can be heard rather than seen. Each layer of sound in these sonifications represents particular wavelengths of light detected by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, and Spitzer Space Telescope in various combinations.M104:Messier 104 (M104 for short), located about 28 million light-years from Earth, is one of the largest galaxies in the nearby Virgo cluster. As seen from Earth, the galaxy is angled nearly edge-on allowing a view of its bright core and spiral arms wrapped around it. Spitzer's infrared view of M104 shows a ring of dust circling the galaxy that pierces through the obscuring dust in Hubble’s optical light image. Spitzer also sees an otherwise hidden disk of stars within the dust ring. The Chandra X-ray image shows hot gas in the galaxy and point sources that are a mixture of objects within M104 as well as quasars in the background. The Chandra observations show that diffuse X-ray emission extends over 60,000 light years from the center of the M104. (The galaxy itself spans 50,000 light years across.) In sonifying these data, we can listen to each type of light either separately or together. Either option begins at the top and scans toward the bottom of the image. The brightness controls the volume and the pitch, meaning the brightest sources in the image are the loudest and highest frequencies. The data from the three telescopes are mapped to different types of sounds. The X-rays from Chandra sound like a synthesizer, Spitzer’s infrared data are strings, and optical light from Hubble has bell-like tones. The core of the galaxy, its dust lanes and spiral arms, and point-like X-ray sources are all audible features in the sonification of these data.These sonifications were led by the Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) and included as part of NASA's Universe of Learning (UoL) program. The collaboration was driven by visualization scientist Kimberly Arcand (CXC), astrophysicist Matt Russo, and musician Andrew Santaguida (both of the SYSTEM Sounds project).For more information, visit: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/sonify7/
Data Sonification: Stephans Quintet (X-ray Only) Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-06-20 | Astronomers often look at objects in space through multiple telescopes. Because different telescopes can detect different types of light, each brings its own pieces of information to whatever is being observed. This is similar in some ways to how different notes of the musical scale can be played together to create harmonies that are impossible with single notes alone.In the past few years, NASA has been producing “sonifications” of astronomical data of objects in space. This project takes the digital data captured by its telescopes in space — most of which is invisible to our unaided eyes — and translates them into musical notes and sounds so they can be heard rather than seen. Each layer of sound in these sonifications represents particular wavelengths of light detected by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, and Spitzer Space Telescope in various combinations.These sonifications were led by the Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) and included as part of NASA's Universe of Learning (UoL) program. The collaboration was driven by visualization scientist Kimberly Arcand (CXC), astrophysicist Matt Russo, and musician Andrew Santaguida (both of the SYSTEM Sounds project).For more information, visit: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/sonify7/
Tour: Galaxies Go on a Deep Dive and Leave Fiery Tail Behind Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-06-06 | A group of galaxies is plunging into the Coma galaxy cluster and leaving behind an extraordinary tail of superheated gas. Astronomers have confirmed this is the longest known tail behind a galaxy group and used it to gain a deeper understanding of how galaxy clusters — some of the largest structures in the Universe — grow to their enormous sizes.Astronomers trained NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory on the galaxy group NGC 4839. Galaxy groups are collections of about 50 galaxies or less that are bound together by gravity. Galaxy clusters are even larger and can contain hundreds or thousands of individual galaxies.Both galaxy clusters and galaxy groups are enveloped by huge amounts of hot gas that are best studied using X-rays. These superheated pools of gas, though extremely thin and diffuse, represent a significant portion of the mass in galaxy groups or clusters and are crucial for understanding these systems.NGC 4839 is located near the edge of the Coma galaxy cluster, one of the largest known clusters in the Universe about 340 million light-years away. As NGC 4839 moves toward the center of the Coma cluster, the hot gas in the galaxy group is stripped away by its collision with gas in the cluster. This results in a tail forming behind the galaxy group.This comet-like tail is 1.5 million light-years long, or hundreds of thousands of times the distance between the Sun and the nearest star, making it the longest tail ever seen trailing behind a group of galaxies. This gas is a key ingredient in making future generations of stars and planets.The current brightness of the tail gives astronomers a special chance to study the tail’s gas before it mixes in with the hot gas in the cluster and becomes too faint to study. The gas in the tail behind NGC 4839 will ultimately merge with the large amount of hot gas already present in the Coma Cluster.More at: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/ngc4839/
Quick Look: Galaxies Go on a Deep Dive and Leave Fiery Tail Behind Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-06-06 | The longest tail of hot gas stretching behind a group of galaxies has been confirmed.NGC 4839 is plunging in the Coma Cluster, leaving an X-ray wake as it goes.This tail contains superheated gas that has been stripped as NGC 4839 dives in.NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory shows the tail is about 1.5 million light-years long.More at: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/ngc4839/
Quick Look: NASAs Chandra, Webb Combine for Arresting Views Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-05-23 | NASA’s Chandra and James Webb telescopes have released new composite images.This collection includes two galaxies, a nebula, and a star cluster.Chandra observes X-rays while James Webb detects infrared light.Mapping invisible light to colors we can see allows us to enjoy such cosmic wonders.More at: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/chandrawebb2/
Tour: NASAs Chandra, Webb Combine for Arresting Views Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-05-23 | Four composite images deliver dazzling views from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and James Webb Space Telescope of two galaxies, a nebula, and a star cluster. Each image combines Chandra’s X-rays — a form of high-energy light — with infrared data from previously released Webb images. Data from the Hubble Space Telescope and retired Spitzer Space Telescope, plus ESA’s XMM-Newton and the ESO’s New Technology Telescope is also used. While most of these wavelengths of light are invisible to the human eye, the data have been mapped to colors so we can explore these cosmic wonders and details within. The data in these images have been released to the public before, but this is the first time they have been combined in this way.The images include NGC 346, a star cluster in a nearby galaxy, the Small Magellanic Cloud, about 200,000 light-years from Earth. Webb shows plumes and arcs of gas and dust that stars and planets use as source material during their formation. The purple cloud on the left seen with Chandra is the remains of a supernova explosion from a massive star. The Chandra data also reveals young, hot, and massive stars that send powerful winds outward from their surfaces.NGC 1672 is a spiral galaxy, but one that astronomers categorize as a “barred” spiral. In regions close to their centers, the arms of barred spiral galaxies are mostly in a straight band of stars across the center that encloses the core, as opposed to other spirals that have arms that twist all the way to their core. The Chandra data reveals compact objects like neutron stars or black holes pulling material from companion stars as well as the remnants of exploded stars.Messier 16, also known as the Eagle Nebula, is a famous region of the sky often referred to as the “Pillars of Creation.” The Webb image shows the dark columns of gas and dust shrouding the few remaining fledgling stars just being formed. The Chandra sources, which look like dots, are young stars that give off copious amounts of X-rays.Messier 74 is also a spiral galaxy — like our Milky Way — that we see face-on from our vantage point on Earth. It is about 32 million light-years away. In the composite, Webb outlines gas and dust in the infrared while Chandra data spotlights high-energy activity from stars at X-ray wavelengths. Hubble optical data showcases additional stars and dust along the dust lanes.We look forward to many more new images from Chandra data and its companion telescopes both in space and on the ground as this exciting era of astronomy continues.More at: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/chandrawebb2/
Space Scoop: Sagittarius A* Black Hole (Part 2) Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-05-11 | Our Galaxy is shaped like a whirlpool, with long strips of cosmic gas and dust swirling around the center. And like a whirlpool, objects that float too close are dragged into the center never to be seen again. The fate of these unfortunate objects is no mystery. Lurking in the dark at the heart of our Galaxy is a gigantic, hungry monster — a supermassive black hole. Learn more in this Space Scoop video.
Space Scoop: Sagittarius A* Black Hole (Part 1) Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-05-11 | We can't photograph our entire galaxy because we live inside it. But we can photograph small sections of our galaxy. Images from the Chandra X-ray Observatory show the very center of our Milky Way galaxy. This is the most chaotic and dangerous part of the Galaxy, and home to a supermassive black hole. Learn more in this space scoop video.
A Black Hole Primer Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-05-11 | A supermassive black hole weighing about 4 million times the mass of our Sun sits at the center of our Galaxy. Astronomers call this black hole “Sagittarius A*” or “Saj A-star” for short. Sgr A* sits in a complex and dynamic environment surrounded by stars, hot gas, supernova remnants and more. Learn more about this black hole and others in our black hole primer video. For more information, visit: https://chandra.si.edu/blackhole/
A Universe of Sound: Turning Astronomical Data into Soundscapes Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-05-10 | Much of our Universe is too distant for anyone to visit in person, but we can still explore it. Telescopes give us a chance to understand what objects in our Universe are like in different types of light. By translating the inherently digital data (in the form of ones and zeroes) captured by telescopes in space into images, astronomers can create visual representations of what would otherwise be invisible to us.But what about experiencing these data with other senses, like hearing? Sonification is the process that translates data into sound. Our new project brings parts of our Milky Way galaxy, and of the greater Universe beyond it, to listeners for the first time.For more information, visit: https://chandra.si.edu/sound/The material contained in this video, “A Universe of Sound”, is based upon work supported by NASA under cooperative agreements Chandra X-ray Center No. HH9200 and Universe of Learning No. 717532HH4001. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.The sonification project “A Universe of Sound” is a collaboration between NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, NASA's Universe of Learning & the Smithsonian, with System Sounds and input from astronomers, students and community members who are blind. Chandra sonifications have been featured on the inclusion website for Harvard University: www.harvard.edu and the International Astronomy Union (IAU) inclusion website: iau.org & iau-oao.nao.ac.jp/iau-inclusion Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/K. Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (Matt Russo, Andrew Santaguida); Produced by A. Jubett
Quick Look: H is for Hot and Huge in Chandra Image Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-05-04 | A giant black hole has blown two bubbles in the hot gas surrounding it in the M84 galaxy.The result is a structure in X-rays that looks like the letter “H”.The “H” shows up in an image from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.Jets from the black hole pushed the hot gas aside to create this unusual outline.For more information, visit: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/m84/
Tour: H is for Hot and Huge in Chandra Image Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-05-04 | With a single letter seemingly etched in the X-ray glow around it, a giant black hole at the center of a massive elliptical galaxy is making a mark on its surroundings.This “H”-shaped structure is found in a detailed new X-ray map of the multimillion-degree gas around the galaxy Messier 84, or M84 for short.As gas is captured by the gravitational force of the black hole, some of it will fall into the abyss, never to be seen again. Some of the gas, however, avoids this fate and instead gets blasted away from the black hole in the form of jets of particles. These jets can push out holes, or cavities, in the hot gas surrounding the black hole. Given the orientation of the jets to Earth and the profile of the hot gas, the cavities form what appears to resemble the letter “H”.Astronomers used NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory to make a map of the hot gas in and around M84. In fact, Chandra was able see down to only about 100 light-years away from the black hole in the center of the galaxy. This gas radiates at temperatures in the tens of millions of degrees. The huge letter “H” is about 40,000 light-years tall, or about half the width of the Milky Way. The radio image from the NSF’s Very Large Array, or VLA, in New Mexico reveals jets streaking away from the black hole.Researchers studying M84 with Chandra and the VLA found that the jets may influence the flow of the hot gas towards the black hole even more than the gravitational pull from the black hole. For example, matter is falling towards the black hole from the north — that is, along the direction of the jet — at a rate that is only a quarter of that from directions where the jet isn’t pointing, to the east and west. One possibility is that gas is lifted along the direction of the jet by the cavities, slowing the rate at which gas falls onto the black hole.The authors also used the Chandra data from M84 to test something called Bondi accretion. Named for the scientist Herman Bondi, a scientist who was born in Australia and died in 2005, Bondi accretion is a model that considers how the material close to a black hole is affected by its gravity and falls inwards. The researchers saw that material in M84 is falling towards the black hole at different rates in different directions, disagreeing with the model for Bondi accretion.M84 is a cousin to M87, the galaxy with the first black hole imaged with the Event Horizon. Located about 55 million light-years away, M84, like M87, is a member of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies.More at: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/m84
Quick Look: New Stellar Danger to Planets Identified by NASAs Chandra Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-04-20 | Supernova explosions may pose an even greater threat to other worlds than we knew.NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes studied over 30 supernovae.Researchers found evidence for a deadly wave of X-rays could last for decades.This X-ray onslaught could damage atmospheres of planets over 100 light-years away.More at: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/4snr/
Tour: New Stellar Danger to Planets Identified by NASAs Chandra Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-04-20 | An exploded star can pose more risks to nearby planets than previously thought, according to a new study from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other X-ray telescopes. This newly identified threat involves a phase of intense X-rays that can damage the atmospheres of planets over 100 light-years away.Although Earth is not in danger now it may have experienced such X-ray exposure in the past.Before this study, most research on the effects of supernova explosions had focused on the danger from two periods: the intense radiation produced by a supernova in the days and months after the explosion, and the energetic particles that arrive hundreds to thousands of years afterward.However, even these alarming threats do not fully catalog the dangers in the wake of an exploded star. Researchers have discovered that, in between these two previously identified dangers, lurks another. The aftermaths of supernovae always produce X-rays, but if the supernova’s blast wave strikes dense surrounding gas, it can produce a particularly large dose of X-rays that arrives months to years after the explosion and may last for decades.The calculations in this latest study are based on X-ray observations of 31 supernovae and their aftermath mostly obtained from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, Swift and NuSTAR missions, and ESA’s XMM-Newton. The analysis of these observations shows that there can be lethal consequences from supernovae interacting with their surroundings, for planets located as much as about 160 light-years away.If a torrent of X-rays sweeps over a nearby planet, the radiation would severely alter the planet's atmospheric chemistry. For an Earth-like planet, this process could wipe out a significant portion of ozone, which ultimately protects life from the dangerous ultraviolet radiation of its host star.As far as anyone knows, the Earth is not in any danger from an event like this now. However, it may be the case that such events played a role in Earth's past. There is strong evidence — including the detection in different locations around the globe of a radioactive type of iron — that supernovae occurred close to Earth between about two and eight million years ago. Researchers estimate these supernovae were between about 65 and 500 light-years away from Earth.Although the Earth and the Solar System are currently in a safe space in terms of potential supernova explosions, many other planets in the Milky Way are not. These high-energy events would effectively shrink the areas within the Milky Way galaxy, known as the Galactic Habitable Zone, where conditions would be conducive for life as we know it.Because the X-ray observations of supernovae are sparse, particularly of the variety that strongly interact with their surroundings, the authors would like to see follow-up observations of interacting supernovae for months and years after the explosion.More at: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/4snr
Quick Look: Chandra Determines What Makes a Galaxys Wind Blow Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-03-29 | A nearby galaxy has powerful winds blowing in opposite directions from its center.NGC 253 is a spiral galaxy like our Milky Way but is churning out new stars faster.This star baby boom produces these winds, which are important to the galactic lifecycle.Data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory was critical to this new result.More at: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/ngc253/
Tour: Chandra Determines What Makes a Galaxys Wind Blow Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-03-29 | On Earth, wind can transport particles of dust and debris across the planet, with sand from the Sahara ending up in the Caribbean or volcanic ash from Iceland being deposited in Greenland. Wind can also have a big impact on the ecology and environment of a galaxy, just like on Earth, but on much larger and dramatic scales.A new study using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory shows the effects of powerful winds launched from the center of a nearby galaxy, NGC 253, located 11.4 million light-years from Earth. This galactic wind is composed of gas with temperatures of millions of degrees that glows in X-rays. An amount of hot gas equivalent to about two million Earth masses blows away from the galaxy’s center every year.NGC 253 is a spiral galaxy, making it similar to our Milky Way. However, stars are forming in NGC 253 at a higher rate than our home galaxy. Some of these young stars are massive and generate a wind by ferociously blowing gas from their surfaces. Powerful winds are also unleashed when, later in their relatively short lives, these stars explode as supernovas, and hurl waves of material out into space.NGC 253 gives astronomers a keyhole through which to study this important phase in the stellar life cycle. The material that the young stars send out into intergalactic space across hundreds of light-years is enriched with elements forged in their interior. These elements, which include many responsible for life on Earth, are folded into the next generations of stars and planets.A team of researchers used deep Chandra observations, taken over four days, to study the properties of the wind. They found that the densities and temperatures of the gas in the wind are the highest in the central 800 light-years – and then decrease with distance away from the center of the galaxy. This is an important clue to some of the details of the physics happening in this galaxy.More work is needed to match up theoretical models with the data from Chandra and other telescopes of NGC 253. Astronomers will also need more observations in the future of other galaxies with winds to better understand this important process.More at: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/ngc253/
Tour: Chandra Helps Astronomers Discover a Surprisingly Lonely Galaxy Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-03-08 | A distant — and lonely — galaxy appears to have pulled in and assimilated all of its former companion galaxies. This result made with NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the International Gemini Observatory may push the limits for how quickly astronomers expect galaxies to grow in the early universe.The unexpectedly solo galaxy is located about 9.2 billion light-years from Earth and contains a quasar, a supermassive black hole pulling in gas at the center of the galaxy and driving powerful jets of matter seen in radio waves. The environment of this galaxy, known as 3C297, appears to have the key features of a galaxy cluster, enormous structures that usually contain hundreds or even thousands of galaxies. Yet 3C297 stands alone.A team of researchers expected to see at least a dozen galaxies within 3C297, yet they found only one. Accurate distance measurements from Gemini data revealed that none of the 19 galaxies that appear close to 3C297 in the optical image are actually at the same distance as the lonely galaxy.The question is, what happened to all of these galaxies in 3C297? The team thinks the gravitational pull of the one large galaxy combined with interactions between the galaxies was too strong, and they merged with the large galaxy. For these galaxies, apparently resistance was futile.The researchers think 3C297 is no longer a galaxy cluster, but a “fossil group.” This is the end stage of a galaxy pulling in and merging with several other galaxies. While many other fossil groups have been detected before, this one is particularly distant, at 9.2 billion light-years away. (The previous record holders for fossil groups were at distances of 4.9 and 7.9 billion light-years.)It may be challenging to explain how the Universe can create this system only 4.6 billion years after the Big Bang. This result doesn’t break the current ideas of cosmology, but it begins to push the limits on how quickly both galaxies and galaxy clusters must have formed.More at: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/3c297/
Quick Look: Chandra Helps Astronomers Discover a Surprisingly Lonely Galaxy Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-03-08 | The galaxy called 3C297, over 9 billion light-years away, is surprisingly lonely.3C297 may have pulled and assimilated all of its galactic companions.Data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory were used for this discovery.This result may push the limits for how galaxies grew in the early Universe.More at: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/3c297/
Quick Look: NASAs Chandra Discovers Giant Black Holes on Collision Course Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-02-22 | NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory found two pairs of merging ‘dwarf’ galaxies.These are galaxies about 20 or more times less massive than our Milky Way.Dwarf galaxies were likely prevalent billions of years ago and grew through collisions.These galaxies and their black holes will tell us about growth in the early Universe.More at: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/bh_pairs/
Tour: NASAs Chandra Discovers Giant Black Holes on Collision Course Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-02-22 | Astronomers have discovered the first evidence for giant black holes in dwarf galaxies on a collision course. This result from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has important ramifications for understanding how the first wave of black holes and galaxies grew in the early universe.Collisions between the pairs of dwarf galaxies have pulled gas towards the giant black holes they each contain, causing the black holes to grow. Eventually the likely collision of the black holes will cause them to merge into much larger black holes. The pairs of galaxies will also merge into one.Scientists think the universe was awash with small galaxies, known as “dwarf galaxies,” several hundred million years after the Big Bang. Most merged with others in the crowded, smaller volume of the early universe, setting in motion the building of larger and larger galaxies now seen around the local universe.Dwarf galaxies by definition contain stars with a total mass less than about 3 billion times that of the Sun, compared to a total mass of about 60 billion Suns estimated for the Milky Way.The earliest dwarf galaxies are impossible to observe with current technology because they are extraordinarily faint at their large distances. Astronomers have been able to observe two in the process of merging at much closer distances to Earth, but without signs of black holes in both galaxies.Astronomers have found many examples of black holes on collision courses in large galaxies that are relatively close by, but searches for them in dwarf galaxies are much more challenging and until now had failed.The new study overcame these challenges by implementing a systematic survey of deep Chandra X-ray observations and comparing them with infrared data from NASA’s Wide Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, telescope and optical data from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope.Using this technique, a group of researchers identified two pairs of merging dwarf galaxies in separate galaxy clusters. The first is Abell 133, which is located about 760 million light-years away. The second is the galaxy cluster Abell 1758S, which is about 3.2 billion light-years from Earth.Astronomers will use these systems as analogs for ones in the early universe, so they can drill down into questions about the first galaxies, their black holes, and star formation the collisions caused many billions of years ago.More at: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/bh_pairs/
Tour: Untangling a Knot of Galaxy Clusters Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-01-30 | Astronomers have captured a spectacular and ongoing collision between at least three galaxy clusters. Data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, ESA’s XMM-Newton and a trio of radio telescopes are helping astronomers sort out what is happening in this jumbled scene.Galaxy clusters are some of the largest structures in the Universe and contain a mixture of galaxies, hot gas and dark matter. Over time, these colossal objects can collide and merge with each other through their gravitational pull. This is the main way that galaxy clusters can grow into the gigantic cosmic edifices seen today.Abell 2256, located 780 million light years from Earth, is a scene where this process is taking place. Astronomers studying this object are trying to tease out what has led to this unusual-looking structure. Each telescope tells a different part of the story. For example, Chandra and XMM-Newton can see the multi-million-degree gas from the clusters. The radio emission in this system arises from an even more complex set of sources.The first are the galaxies themselves, where the radio signal is generated by particles blasting away in jets from supermassive black holes at their centers. Radio waves are also coming from a huge filamentary structure, which was likely generated when the collision created shock waves and accelerated particles in the gas.Astronomers will continue to study this complex system to untangle this knot of galaxy clusters and the details of the physics taking place there. This will help us learn more about how these cosmic giants came to inhabit the Universe today.For more information, visit: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/a2256/
Quick Look: Untangling a Knot of Galaxy Clusters Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-01-30 | A new image of a chaotic scene of colliding galaxy clusters has been captured.Galaxy clusters are some of the biggest objects in the Universe.They grow to their immense size through merging with other galaxy clusters.NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes enabled this result.For more information, visit: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/a2256/
Quick Look: Astronomers Dig Out Buried Black Holes With NASAs Chandra Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-01-11 | Astronomers have spotted hundreds of previously unknown black holes.The new result was made possible by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.By combining X-ray and optical data, astronomers could pinpoint the black holes.The black holes are in the centers of galaxies and are rapidly growing.For more information, visit: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/xbongs
Tour: Astronomers Dig Out Buried Black Holes With NASAs Chandra Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-01-11 | Hundreds of black holes previously hidden, or buried, have been found using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. This result helps give astronomers a more accurate census of black holes in the Universe.The black holes in this new study are the supermassive variety that contain millions or even billions of times the mass of the Sun. While astronomers think that almost all large galaxies harbor giant black holes in their centers, only some of the black holes will be actively pulling in material that produces radiation and some will be obscured by dust and gas.The result was made possible by using data from the Chandra Source Catalog, a public repository including hundreds of thousands of X-ray sources detected by the observatory over its first 15 years. They combined the X-ray information with optical data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, or SDSS. From this, a team of astronomers was able to identify hundreds of black holes that had previously been hidden. They are in galaxies not previously identified to contain quasars, extremely bright objects containing rapidly growing supermassive black holes.While astronomers have already identified huge numbers of black holes over the years, many of these exotic objects remain elusive. This research has uncovered a missing population of black holes and helped scientists understand how they are behaving.For about 40 years scientists have known about galaxies that look normal in optical light — with light from stars and gas but not the distinctive optical signatures of a quasar — but shine brightly in X-rays. They refer to these objects as “X-ray bright optically normal galaxies” or “XBONGs”.By systematically combing through the deep Chandra Source Catalog and comparing to SDSS optical data, the researchers identified 817 XBONG candidates, more than ten times the number known before Chandra was in operation.X-rays are particularly useful to search for rapidly growing black holes because material swirling around them is superheated to millions of degrees and then glows strongly in X-ray wavelengths. A thick cocoon of gas and dust surrounding a black hole will block most or all the light at optical wavelengths. X-rays, however, pass through the cocoon much more easily to be detected by Chandra.However, X-rays could not make this discovery alone. Only by combining Chandra data with the optical was the team able to identify these previously unknown black holes. It is yet another example of how telescopes spanning the electromagnetic spectrum often work together to make exciting progress in exploring the Universe.For more information, visit: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/xbongs
Quick Look: The Enduring Stellar Lifecycle in 30 Doradus Chandra X-ray Observatory 2023-01-09 | The "Tarantula Nebula" (officially known as 30 Doradus) is available in a composite image of Chandra and JWST data for the first time.30 Doradus is a region of active star formation located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a neighbor galaxy of the Milky Way.The image combines X-rays from Chandra (blue and purple) and infrared data from JWST (red, orange, green, and light blue).30 Doradus has a chemical composition similar to what most nebulas in our Galaxy had several billion years ago.For more information, visit: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/30dor/
Tour: Chandra Sees Stellar X-rays Exceeding Safety Limits Chandra X-ray Observatory 2022-12-15 | Astronomers have made the best study yet of how magnetically active stars are when they are young. This gives scientists a window into how X-rays from stars like the Sun, but billions of years younger, could partially or completely evaporate the atmospheres of planets orbiting them.Many stars begin their lives in “open clusters”, loosely packed groups of stars with up to a few thousand members, all formed roughly at the same time. This makes open clusters valuable for astronomers investigating the evolution of stars and planets, because they allow the study of many stars of similar ages forged in the same environment.A team of astronomers studied a sample of over 6,000 stars in 10 different open clusters with ages between 7 million and 25 million years. One of the goals of this study was to learn how the magnetic activity levels of stars like our Sun change during the first tens of millions of years after they form. The researchers used NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory for this study because stars that have more activity linked to magnetic fields are brighter in X-rays.The researchers combined the Chandra data of the stars’ activity with data from ESA’s Gaia satellite, Herschel Space Observatory, and NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. They also compared their results for the open clusters with previously published Chandra studies of stars as young as 500,000 years old. The team found that the X-ray brightness of young, Sun-like stars is roughly constant for the first few million years, and then fades from 7 to 25 million years of age. This decrease happens more quickly for heftier stars.A star’s activity directly influences the formation processes of planets in the disk of gas and dust that surrounds all nascent stars. The most boisterous, magnetically active young stars quickly clear away their disks, halting the growth of planets. The X-rays also affect the potential habitability of the planets that emerge after the disk has disappeared. If a star is extremely active, as with many NGC 3293 stars in the Chandra data, then scientists predict they will blast their planets with energetic X-ray radiation and ultraviolet light. Luckily for us here on Earth, our planet possesses its own magnetic field that protected it and its atmosphere against this high-energy radiation from a very young Sun.More information at: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2022/ngc3293/
Quick Look: Chandra Sees Stellar X-rays Exceeding Safety Limits Chandra X-ray Observatory 2022-12-15 | A new study gives clues to how our Sun behaved during its first 25 million years.Researchers looked at young stars in 10 stellar clusters to observe X-ray activity.NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory was pivotal in this study along with other telescopes.This finding shows how young stars could affect planets and their atmospheres.More information at: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2022/ngc3293/
A Virtual Field Trip with NASAs Chandra X-ray Observatory - December 6, 2022 Chandra X-ray Observatory 2022-12-07 | As NASA’s premier X-ray telescope, Chandra gives us a powerful tool to investigate hot regions of the Universe, from black holes, to exploding stars, colliding galaxies and more. Get a backstage pass to Chandra's Operations Control Center, tour the Chandra spacecraft through virtual reality, and take a (virtual) quick trip to some exploding stars in our own galaxy. This virtual field trip is part of the Code.org CS Journeys.Hosted by Dr. Kimberly Arcand with special guests Kristin Divona, Dr. Rutu Das, and/or Nancy WolkFor more information, visit: https://chandra.si.edu/fieldtrip/
A Virtual Field Trip with NASAs Chandra X-ray Observatory - November 17, 2022 Chandra X-ray Observatory 2022-12-01 | As NASA’s premier X-ray telescope, Chandra gives us a powerful tool to investigate hot regions of the Universe, from black holes, to exploding stars, colliding galaxies and more. Get a backstage pass to Chandra's Operations Control Center, tour the Chandra spacecraft through virtual reality, and take a (virtual) quick trip to some exploding stars in our own galaxy. This virtual field trip is part of the Code.org CS Journeys.Hosted by Dr. Kimberly Arcand with special guests Kristin Divona, Dr. Rutu Das, and/or Nancy WolkFor more information, visit: https://chandra.si.edu/fieldtrip/
Tour: Astronomers See Stellar Self-Control in Action Chandra X-ray Observatory 2022-11-29 | Astronomers have found that groups of stars, or clusters, in certain environments can regulate themselves. The stars in the cluster known as RCW 36 have “self-control,” by limiting the number of stars to grow. They do this when the biggest and brightest stars expel most of the gas from the system, which depletes the cluster of the material new stars need to grow. This process could drastically slow down the birth of new stars and give better agreement with predictions for how quickly stars should be forming in clusters.This study combines data from several telescopes including NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, NASA's airborne SOFIA observatory, the APEX radio telescope in Chile, and the European Space Agency’s Herschel telescope in space.The target of the observations was RCW 36, a large cloud of gas called an HII region mainly composed of hydrogen atoms that have been ionized, which means the atoms have been stripped of their electrons. This star-forming complex is located in the Milky Way about 2,900 light-years from Earth.RCW 36 contains a cluster of young stars and two cavities — or voids — carved out of the ionized hydrogen gas extending in opposite directions. There is also a ring of gas that wraps around the cluster in between the cavities, forming a waist around the hourglass-shaped cavities.Astronomers see hot gas with a temperature of about two million Kelvin (or about 3.6 million degrees Fahrenheit), radiating in X-rays with Chandra. Most of the hot gas is concentrated near the center of RCW 36, close to the two hottest and most massive stars in the cluster. Much of the rest of the hot gas is outside the cavities, after having leaked through the borders of the cavities. The SOFIA and APEX data show that the ring contains cool, dense gas and is expanding at 2,000 to 4,000 miles per hour.The SOFIA data also reveal that shells of cool gas on the perimeter of both cavities are expanding at about 10,000 miles per hour, likely being driven outward by pressure from the hot gas observed with Chandra. The hot gas, plus radiation from stars in the cluster, has also cleared even larger cavities around RCW 36, forming a structure like a nested Russian doll. Researchers also see evidence from the SOFIA data for some cool gas around the ring being ejected from RCW 36 at even higher speeds of about 30,000 miles per hour. They estimate mass equivalent to about 170 Earths are being pushed out per year.The expansion speeds of the different structures plus the mass ejection rate show that most of the cool gas within about three light-years of the center of the HII region will be ejected from RCW 37 in one to two million years. This will clear out the raw material that stars need to form, suppressing their continued birth in the region. Astronomers call this process where stars can regulate themselves “stellar feedback.” Results such as this help us understand the role stellar feedback plays in the star formation process.More at: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2022/rcw36/
Quick Look: Astronomers See Stellar Self-Control in Action Chandra X-ray Observatory 2022-11-29 | Stars can regulate their growth when they are part of a bigger group called a cluster.Once stars get very big and bright, they can blow most of the gas out of the cluster.This prevents too many new stars from forming, controlling the stellar family’s size.NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes examined a large gas cloud for this finding.More at: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2022/rcw36/
Data Sonification: V404 Cygni Chandra X-ray Observatory 2022-11-21 | One of the surprising features of black holes is that although light (such as radio, visible, and X-rays) cannot escape from them, surrounding material can produce intense bursts of electromagnetic radiation. As they travel outward, these blasts of light can bounce off clouds of gas and dust in space, similar to how light beams from a car’s headlight will scatter off fog.A new sonification turns these “light echoes” from the black hole called V404 Cygni into sound. Located about 7,800 light-years from Earth, V404 Cygni is a system that contains a black hole, with a mass between five and 10 times the Sun’s, that is pulling material from a companion star in orbit around it. The material is funneled into a disk that encircles the stellar-mass black hole.More information at: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2022/sonify6/
Data Sonification: V404 Cygni (Wavelengths) Chandra X-ray Observatory 2022-11-21 | One of the surprising features of black holes is that although light (such as radio, visible, and X-rays) cannot escape from them, surrounding material can produce intense bursts of electromagnetic radiation. As they travel outward, these blasts of light can bounce off clouds of gas and dust in space, similar to how light beams from a car’s headlight will scatter off fog.A new sonification turns these “light echoes” from the black hole called V404 Cygni into sound. Located about 7,800 light-years from Earth, V404 Cygni is a system that contains a black hole, with a mass between five and 10 times the Sun’s, that is pulling material from a companion star in orbit around it. The material is funneled into a disk that encircles the stellar-mass black hole.More information at: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2022/sonify6/Description:SwiftThe sonification video of V404 Cygni features a hazy, bright blue dot surrounded by three concentric, glowing, deep red rings set against a black background. The rings of radiation are grainy and blurred, resembling curved tire marks left in wet snow. The smallest ring, closest to the blue dot at the core, is tightest and brightest. The largest ring, furthest from the core, is most faint and appears to have dissipated. The rings of radiation were observed as X-ray data collected by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. In the sonification video, a thin white circle expands from the core. As it passes over the rings, the datapoints crackle. The brighter the ring, the louder the sound.ChandraThis sonification video of V404 Cygni features similar glowing concentric rings set against a black background. This time the radiation rings have been rendered in bright neon blue, representing data collected by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Here, there are clean breaks in the visualized radiation at our upper corners and in a straight horizontal line across the center of the frame, as if portions of the rings were removed with swipes of an eraser. These blank spots represent areas outside of Chandra's field of view. As the thin white circle expands in this sonification video, the radiation it washes over is translated into higher-frequency popping sounds.OpticalThis sonification video of V404 Cygni features a black sky dotted with specks of white and pale blue light. These are the V404 Cygni system background stars, photographed by the Digitized Sky Survey. As the thin white circle expands in this sonification video, each star it encounters triggers a musical note. The volume and pitch relate to the brightness of the stars.
Quick Look: Listen to the Light Echoes From a Black Hole Chandra X-ray Observatory 2022-11-21 | A new sonification turns X-ray “light echoes” from a black hole into sound.Rings of X-rays seen by NASA’s Chandra and Swift observatories show the echoes.Material around a black hole can generate bursts of X-rays.The X-rays reflect off clouds of gas and dust like beams from headlights can in fog.More information at: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2022/sonify6/
A Virtual Field Trip with NASAs Chandra X-ray Observatory - November 9, 2022 Chandra X-ray Observatory 2022-11-10 | As NASA’s premier X-ray telescope, Chandra gives us a powerful tool to investigate hot regions of the Universe, from black holes, to exploding stars, colliding galaxies and more. Get a backstage pass to Chandra's Operations Control Center, tour the Chandra spacecraft through virtual reality, and take a (virtual) quick trip to some exploding stars in our own galaxy. This virtual field trip is part of the Code.org CS Journeys.Hosted by Dr. Kimberly Arcand with special guests Kristin Divona, Dr. Rutu Das, and/or Nancy Wolk
A Virtual Field Trip with NASAs Chandra X-ray Observatory - October 5, 2022 Chandra X-ray Observatory 2022-10-14 | As NASA’s premier X-ray telescope, Chandra gives us a powerful tool to investigate hot regions of the Universe, from black holes, to exploding stars, colliding galaxies and more. Get a backstage pass to Chandra's Operations Control Center, tour the Chandra spacecraft through virtual reality, and take a (virtual) quick trip to some exploding stars in our own galaxy. This virtual field trip is part of the Code.org CS Journeys.Hosted by Dr. Kimberly Arcand with special guests Kristin Divona, Dr. Rutu Das, and/or Nancy Wolk
Tour: NASAs Chandra Finds Galaxy Cluster Collision on a WHIM Chandra X-ray Observatory 2022-10-13 | Astronomers taking inventory of the material in the local universe keep coming up short. A new result from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory about a system of colliding galaxy clusters may help explain this shortfall.Although scientists know a great deal about the composition of the universe, there has been a vexing problem they have struggled to explain — there is a significant amount of matter that has not yet been accounted for.This missing mass is not the invisible dark matter, which makes up a majority of the matter in the universe. This is a separate puzzle where about a third of the "normal" matter that was created in the first billion years or so after the Big Bang has yet to be detected by observations of the local universe, that is, in regions less than a few billion light-years from Earth. This matter is made up of hydrogen, helium, and other elements and makes up objects like stars, planets, and humans.Scientists have proposed that at least some of this missing mass could be hidden in gigantic strands, or filaments, of gas in the space in between galaxies and clusters of galaxies with temperatures between 10,000 and 10 million degrees. They have dubbed this the "warm-hot intergalactic medium," or WHIM.A team of astronomers using Chandra to observe a system of colliding galaxy clusters has likely found evidence of this WHIM residing in the space between them. The researchers used Chandra to study Abell 98, which contains colliding galaxy clusters about 1.4 billion light years from Earth. The Chandra data reveal a bridge of X-ray emission between two of the colliding clusters containing gas at a temperature of about twenty million degrees and cooler gas with a temperature of about ten million degrees. The hotter gas in the bridge is likely from gas in the two clusters overlapping with each other. The temperature and density of the cooler gas agree with predictions for the hottest and densest gas in the WHIM. Only a few detections of the WHIM have previously been made.In addition, the Chandra data show the presence of a shock wave, which is similar to a sonic boom from a supersonic plane. This shock wave is driven by and located ahead of one of the galaxy clusters as it is starting to collide with another cluster. This would be the first time that astronomers have found such a shock wave in the early stages of a galaxy cluster collision, before the centers of the clusters pass by one another.Galaxy clusters — which contain thousands of galaxies, huge amounts of hot gas, and enormous reservoirs of dark matter — are the largest structures in the universe held together by gravity. Scientists think they are able to reach their colossal size by merging with one another over millions or billions of years. When galaxy clusters collide, astronomers get a chance to see extreme physics that they rarely see in any other cosmic setting.More at: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2022/a98/
