Chandra Fun Facts
Learn some interesting things about the Chandra X-ray Observatory and what it will study?
What Space Shuttle was Chandra launched on?
Chandra was launched aboard NASA's Space Shuttle Columbia on July 23, 1999!!!
How high does Chandra orbit?
Chandra flies more than 1/3 of the way to the moon!
How quickly can Chandra move from one target to the next?
Chandra can move more slowly than the minute hand on a clock.
How does Chandra compare in size to other satellites?
At 45 feet long, Chandra is the largest satellite the shuttle has ever launched.
How smooth are Chandra's mirrors?
If Colorado were polished to the same relative smoothness as Chandra's mirrors, Pikes Peak would be less than one inch tall!
How much power does it take to operate Chandra?
The electrical power required to operate the satellite is about 2000 watts, roughly the same power as a hair dryer.
What was the first NASA space shuttle mission commanded by a woman?
STS-93, the space shuttle mission that deployed Chandra, was commanded by Col. Eileen Collins.
What are the largest cosmic objects that Chandra can observe?
Chandra can image the X-rays in galaxy clusters so vast that it takes light 5 million years to go from one side to the other!
How far back in time can Chandra look?
The light from some of the quasars Chandra can observe has been traveling through space for over 12 billion years.
How keen is Chandra's vision?
Chandra's resolving power is equivalent to the ability to read the letters of a STOP sign at a distance of 12 miles!
What was the first imaging X-ray telescope?
NASA's Einstein Observatory, launched in 1978, was the first X-ray telescope with mirrors that could image cosmic sources.
How does the CXO record cosmic X-rays so that images can be made and studied?
The Observatory uses the high resolution camera, and the CCD imaging spectrometer to record X-rays from cosmic sources.
What rare metal was used to coat the Chandra mirrors?
The Chandra mirrors were coated a millionth of an inch thick with iridium, a rare metal more reflective than gold.
How clean are the Chandra mirrors?
The Chandra mirrors are 99.999% clean. The equivalent of 1 speck of dust on your computer screen.
How accurate is the alignment of the Chandra mirrors?
The alignment of the mirrors is accurate to 50 millionths of an inch or about one fiftieth the width of a human hair!
How much would a teaspoonful of neutron star matter weigh?
Who discovered X-radiation?
X-radiation was discovered by German scientist Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895.
How are X-rays absorbed in Earth's atmosphere?
Cosmic X-rays are absorbed in the atmosphere by Nitrogen & Oxygen molecules (the photoelectric effect).
How is a black hole formed?
Black holes are formed by the collapse of a star much more massive than the Sun.
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