Chandra X-ray Observatory

A galaxy being stripped of stars as it plows through a cluster

17 June 2019 Astronomy Now

Stars and long streams of gas are torn away from a galaxy as it plows through the heart of a cluster near the centre of the Great Attractor in a phenomenon known as ram pressure stripping.

Visualizing the chaos near the Milky Way’s central black hole

24 March 2019 Astronomy Now

A 360-dergree visualization of the Milky Way’s core from the perspective of its central supermassive black hole shows the chaotic motion of nearby stars and gas clouds.

Rumors of a quasar’s death may have been premature

21 March 2019 Astronomy Now

A voracious quasar at the heart of a galaxy 1.1 billion light years away is blowing huge bubbles in space, giving the host galaxy the shape of a teacup.

A star’s death sheds light on black hole’s spin

14 January 2019 Astronomy Now

The remains of a destroyed star in a disc of shredded debris around a supermassive black hole showed the hole was spinning at more than half the speed of light.

Behaviour of fastest-growing white dwarf contradicts accepted theory

9 December 2018 Astronomy Now

Observations of a fast-growing white dwarf suggest an alternative explanation for what triggers X-ray outbursts as gas from a companion star falls onto the dwarf

Chandra X-ray Observatory joins Hubble in protective safe mode

12 October 2018 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory entered protective safe mode 10 October, the second of NASA’s “Great Observatories” to be sidelined in one week by a technical issue. Engineers are studying telemetry to pinpoint the problem.

Galaxies leave a trail as they plunge into massive cluster

28 September 2018 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory captures a detailed view showing a small group of galaxies being pulled into a massive galactic cluster trailing a long stream of hot gas in their wake.

Two galaxies collide leaving luminous ring of collapsed stars

7 September 2018 Astronomy Now

Observations of a ring galaxy, the result of a cosmic collision with another galaxy more than 300 million years ago, reveal a necklace-like ring of ultraluminous X-ray sources powered by black holes, neutron stars or both.

X-rays indicate collision of young planets may explain star’s dimming

20 July 2018 Astronomy Now

Astronomers struggling to understand why an unusual stars periodically fades and brightens have collected X-ray observations indicating it may be due to the catastrophic collision of two infant planets.

Supermassive black holes squelch star formation in ancient galaxies

23 June 2018 Astronomy Now

Observations by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory of two five-billion-solar-mass black holes at the cores of two ancient ‘red nugget’ galaxies show they squelched star formation early on while consuming surrounding gas.