Amazing Universe

  • Released Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Some of the most powerful and menacing spectacles happen in the blackest regions of space. To observe these displays, NASA has a fleet of space telescopes that peer deep into the cosmos. One such telescope is the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The spacecraft detects X-rays emitted from exploded stars, distant galaxies, and hot matter flowing into gigantic black holes. The telescope is so powerful it can read a stop sign from 12 miles away. Some of the X-ray light it has seen dates back to 12 billion years ago, shortly after the formation of the universe. Explore the images for a look at five far-off places revealed with the help of Chandra.

Stellar winds and supernova explosions produce superheated X-ray gas (blue) that Chandra can detect, seen here in the Tarantula Nebula.

Stellar winds and supernova explosions produce superheated X-ray gas (blue) that Chandra can detect, seen here in the Tarantula Nebula.

A supermassive black hole devours gas from its host galaxy, releasing X-rays (red) seen by Chandra.

A supermassive black hole devours gas from its host galaxy, releasing X-rays (red) seen by Chandra.



Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Cover image courtesy of NASA/CXC/SAO/J.DePasquale and NASA/JPL-Caltech and NASA/STScI
Flame Nebula image courtesy of NASA/DSS
Whirlpool Galaxy image courtesy of NASA/CXC/Wesleyan Univ./R.Kilgard, et al. and NASA/STScI
Tarantula Nebula image courtesy of NASA/CXC/PSU/L.Townsley et al. and NASA/JPL/PSU/L.Townsley et al.
Milky Way image courtesy of NASA/CXC/Penn State/L.Townsley et al. and ESO/2.2m telescope
Black hole image courtesy of NASA/CXC/MIT/C.Canizares, D.Evans et al. and NASA/STScI and NSF/NRAO/VLA

Release date

This page was originally published on Tuesday, July 8, 2014.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:50 PM EDT.