This selection of images of different types of light from different missions and telescopes has been combined to better understand the universe. Each composite image contains X-ray data from Chandra as well as other telescopes. The objects represent a range of different astrophysical objects and include the Messier 82 galaxy, the Abell 2744 galaxy cluster, the 1987A supernova remnant, the Eta Carinae binary star system, the Cartwheel galaxy, and the Helix Nebula planetary nebula. Credit: NASA / CXC / SAO, NASA / STScI, NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSC, ESO / NAOJ / NRAO, NRAO / AUI / NSF, NASA / CXC / SAO / PSU, and NASA / ESA
Humanity has “eyes” that can capture all types of light through telescopes around the globe and a fleet of observatories in space. From radio waves to gamma rays, this multi-wavelength astronomy approach is critical to a thorough understanding of objects in space.
This compilation includes examples of images from various missions and telescopes that are combined to better understand the science of the universe. Each of these images contains data from NASAChandra X-ray Observatory as well as other telescopes. Different types of objects are shown (galaxies, supernova remnants, stars, planetary nebulae) but together they show the possibilities when data is put together from the entire electromagnetic spectrum.
Top row from left to right:
M82
Messier 82 or M82 is a galaxy that is aligned directly with the earth. This gives astronomers and their telescopes an interesting look at what happens when this galaxy experiences star formation spurts. X-rays from Chandra (blue and pink) show gas in about 20,000 light-years long runoffs that has been heated to temperatures above ten million degrees by repeated supernova explosions. Optical light data from NASAs Hubble Space Telescope (red and orange) shows the galaxy.
Photo credit: X-ray: NASA / CXC; Optical: NASA / STScI
Abell 2744
Galaxy clusters are the largest objects in the universe that are held together by gravity. They contain enormous amounts of superheated gas at temperatures of tens of millions of degrees, which glows brightly in X-rays and can be observed between galaxies for millions of light years. This image of the Abell 2744 galaxy cluster combines X-rays from Chandra (diffuse blue emission) with optical light data from Hubble (red, green, and blue).
Photo credit: NASA / CXC; Optical: NASA / STScI
Supernova 1987A (SN 1987A)
On February 24, 1987, observers in the southern hemisphere saw a new object in a nearby galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud. This was one of the brightest supernova explosions in centuries and soon became known as Supernova 1987A (SN 87A). The Chandra data (blue) show the location of the supernova’s shock wave – similar to the sonic boom of a supersonic surface – which interacts with the surrounding material about four light years from the original explosion point. Optical data from Hubble (orange and red) also show evidence of this interaction in the ring.
Photo credit: Radio: ALMA (ESO / NAOJ / NRAO), P. Cigan and R. Indebetouw; NRAO / AUI / NSF, B. Saxton; X-ray: NASA / CXC / SAO / PSU / K. Frank et al .; Optical: NASA / STScI
Bottom row from left to right:
Eta Carinae
What will be the next star in our Milky Way to explode as a supernova? Astronomers aren’t sure, but one candidate is in Eta Carinae, a volatile system with two massive stars orbiting closely. This image has three types of light: Hubble optical data (appears as white), Hubble ultraviolet (cyan), and Chandra X-rays (appears as purple emission). The star’s previous eruptions have resulted in a ring of hot, X-ray emitting gas about 2.3 light years in diameter surrounding these two stars.
Photo credit: NASA / CXC; Ultraviolet / Optical: NASA / STScI; Combined image: NASA / ESA / N. Smith (University of Arizona), J. Morese (BoldlyGo Institute), and A. Pagan
Cartwheel Galaxy
This galaxy resembles a porthole, which is reasonable as its appearance is due in part to a smaller galaxy that went through the center of this object. The violent collision created shock waves that swept across the galaxy, triggering large amounts of star formation. X-rays from Chandra (purple) show disturbed hot gas originally picked up by the Cartwheel Galaxy and dragged for more than 150,000 light years by the collision. Optical data from Hubble (red, green and blue) show where this collision could have triggered the star formation.
Photo credit: X-ray: NASA / CXC; Optical: NASA / STScI
Helix Nebula
When a star like the Sun runs out of fuel, it expands and its outer layers puff, and then the star’s core shrinks. This phase is known as the “planetary nebula,” and astronomers expect our sun to experience this in about 5 billion years. These Helix Nebula images contain infrared data from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope (green and red), optical light from Hubble (orange and blue), ultraviolet from NASA’s Galaxy Evolution Explorer (cyan), and Chandra’s X-rays (appearing as white) white dwarf Star that formed in the middle of the nebula. The image is about four light years across.
Photo credit: X-ray: NASA / CXC; Ultraviolet: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSC; Optical: NASA / STScI (M. Meixner) / ESA / NRAO (TA-Rector); Infrared: NASA / JPL-Caltech / K. Su
Three of these images – SN 1987A, Eta Carinae, and the Helix Nebula – were developed as part of NASA’s Universe of Learning (UoL), an integrated learning and literacy program for astrophysics, and specifically UoL’s ViewSpace project. The UoL brings together experts working on Chandra, the Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope, and other NASA astrophysics missions.
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center administers the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science from Cambridge, Massachusetts and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.
