Abstract:
Abstract The Chandra X‐ray Observatory (originally called the Advanced X‐ray Astrophysics Facility—AXAF) is the X‐ray component of NASA's “Great Observatory” Program. Chandra is a NASA facility that provides scientific data to the international astronomical community in response to scientific proposals for using it. The Observatory is the product of the efforts of many organizations in the United States and Europe. The Great Observatories also include the Hubble Space Telescope for space‐based observations of astronomical objects primarily in the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, the now defunct Compton Gamma‐Ray Observatory that was designed to observe gamma‐ray emission from astronomical objects, and the soon‐to‐be‐launched Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF). The Chandra X‐ray Observatory (hereafter CXO) is sensitive to X rays in the energy range from below 0.1 to above 10.0 keV, corresponding to wavelengths from 12 to 0.12 nanometers. The relationships among the various parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, sorted by characteristic temperature and the corresponding wavelength are illustrated in this article. X‐ray astronomy is an extremely important field because it has been found that all categories of astronomical objects (or a subset thereof), from comets to quasars, emit X‐rays. Thus learning how and why these objects produce X‐rays are fundamental to our understanding of the way astronomical systems work. This, together with the large amounts of energy required to produce X‐rays, makes their study interesting and exciting. A second reason that the field is so important is that the vast bulk of the matter in the Universe that we can directly observe through the electromagnetic radiation that it emits is in the very hot (temperatures of millions of degrees) X‐ray emitting gas that fills the space between galaxies in clusters of galaxies, the largest collections of matter in the Universe. The CXO is the prime method of gaining new information about the X‐ray emission seen in the Universe. The CXO was named in honor of the late Indian‐American Nobel laureate, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, nicknamed “Chandra” which means “moon” or “luminous” in Sanskrit. He was one of the foremost astrophysicists of the twentieth century and, in 1983, was awarded the Nobel prize for his studies of the physical processes important to the structure and evolution of stars. The observatory and its instrumentation are discussed. Scientific results are detailed CXO's role in solving the mystery of gamma ray bursts is also discussed.Keywords:
Electromagnetic spectrum
X-Ray Astronomy
Space observatory
Spitzer Space Telescope
Spitzer Space Telescope
Space observatory
Galactic plane
X-ray telescope
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The Spitzer Space Telescope, NASA’s Great Observatory for infrared exploration, was launched on August 25, 2003, and is returning excellent scientific data. Combining the intrinsic sensitivity obtained with a cooled telescope in space and the imaging and spectroscopic power of modern array detectors, huge gains have been achieved in exploring the infrared universe. This paper describes the Spitzer Space Telescope and its focal-plane instruments and summarizes some of the spectacular images and new scientific results that have been obtained.
Spitzer Space Telescope
Space observatory
Infrared telescope
Infrared astronomy
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The present work follows a chronological outline covering the development of infrared space facilities in recent decades. The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (launched in 1984), Infrared Space Observatory (1995), and Spitzer Space Telescope (2003 August) constitute a logical sequence in the study of galactic infrared properties, with a well‐modulated improvement of observing capabilities.
Spitzer Space Telescope
Space observatory
Infrared astronomy
Cosmic infrared background
Infrared telescope
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The World Space Observatory UltraViolet (WSO-UV) project is an international space observatory designed for observations in the ultraviolet domain. The observatory includes a single 170 cm aperture telescope capable of high-resolution spectroscopy, long slit low-resolution spectroscopy and deep UV and optical imaging.
Ultraviolet
Space observatory
Aperture (computer memory)
Spitzer Space Telescope
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Spitzer Space Telescope
Space observatory
Infrared telescope
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A convenient guide to the expected characteristics of the Space Telescope Observatory for astronomers and physicists is presented. An attempt is made to provide enough detail so that a professional scientist, observer or theorist, can plan how the observatory may be used to further his observing programs or to test theoretical models.
Space observatory
Spitzer Space Telescope
Observer (physics)
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The Chandra X-ray Observatory - formerly, the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) - has now joined the Hubble Space Telescope and the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory, as the third of NASA's Great Observatories. Chandra provides unprecedented arcsecond imaging and spectrometric imaging and high-resolution dispersive spectroscopy, to address a large range of topics in x-ray astronomy and astrophysics. Here we provide an overview of the Observatory, its operation, and results obtained during its first year of operation.
Space observatory
X-ray telescope
X-Ray Astronomy
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Such an observatory will build on Spitzer and Herschel science, and will critically complement major national investments at shorter (JWST) and longer (ALMA, CCAT) wavelengths by opening new discovery space in the far infrared. The observatory will address established decadal science goals, and NASA strategic goals, taking advantage of revolutionary developments in far infrared sensor and observatory cooling technologies.
Space observatory
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The Chandra X-ray Observatory, formerly, the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF), has now joined the Hubble Space Telescope and the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory, as the third of NASA's Great Observatories. Chandra provides unprecedented arcsecond imaging and spectrometric imaging and high-resolution dispersive spectroscopy, to address a large range of topics in x-ray astronomy and astrophysics. Here we provide an overview of the Observatory, its operation, and initial results.
Space observatory
X-ray telescope
X-Ray Astronomy
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The enormous success of IRAS stimulated both the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA to develop new space infrared observatories that would follow up the wealth of discoveries about the infrared universe made with IRAS.
Space observatory
Spitzer Space Telescope
Infrared astronomy
Infrared telescope
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